Boosting electrocatalytic performance of cobalt iron telluride via vanadium doping for enhanced water and urea electrolysis

Abstract

Efficient electrocatalysts are pivotal for advancing sustainable hydrogen production. Transition metal tellurides, known for their remarkable conductivity, stability, and cost-effectiveness, offer significant promise for scalable applications. In this study, vanadium-doped cobalt iron telluride nanorods (V-CoFeTe₂/NF) are synthesized using a solvothermal method and demonstrate exceptional catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) in alkaline environments. The V-CoFeTe₂/NF catalyst achieves overpotentials of 119/217 mV at 20/50 mA cm⁻² for HER and 210/280 mV for OER, maintaining stability over 50 h. In single-cell anion exchange membrane electrolyzers, it delivers 1 A cm⁻² at 1.82 V with durability exceeding 120 h. Additionally, water and urea electrolysis require only 1.57 and 1.48 V at 20 mA cm⁻², respectively. The improved performance is primarily due to an optimized electronic structure, favorable intermediate binding energies, enhanced adsorption characteristics, and efficient charge transfer, positioning telluride-based catalysts as strong candidates for industrial-scale electrolysis applications.

Keywords

electrocatalyst / electrolysis / hydrogen evolution reaction / oxygen evolution reaction / urea oxidation reaction

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