Ampere-Level Complete Water Splitting Through Entropy Engineering Regulation of Multi-principal Element Alloy

Abstract:

High-performance noble metal electrocatalysts for water splitting face significant challenges including high cost, low atomic utilization, insufficient interface stability, and complex preparation processes, which severely limit their large-scale application. Therefore, developing low-cost, low-energy-consumption, and long-life electrocatalysts for water splitting is urgently needed. In this work, a carbon thermal shock strategy was used to rapidly synthesize ultrafine (10 nm) FeCoNiCrPt high-entropy alloy (HEA) nanoparticles on carbon fibers. Results show that in alkaline medium, the catalyst achieves current densities of 10 mA·cm^–2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 100 mA·cm^–2 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with overpotential of only 34 and 264 mV, respectively. Furthermore, when FeCoNiCrPt samples are used as both anode and cathode in an alkaline electrolyzer for overall water splitting, a current density of 10 mA·cm^–2 is achieved at only 1.53 V, with stable operation for more than 100 h. This carbon thermal shock strategy provides a simple and versatile approach for rapidly synthesizing well-dispersed HEA nanoparticles, offering a new pathway for developing low-cost, highly stable catalysts for overall water splitting.