A novel in-situ strategy develops for Mo2C nanoparticles incorporated on N,P co-doped stereotaxically carbon as efficient electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Developing cost-effective and remarkable electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performs excelling role in boosting the hydrogen energy application. Herein, a novel in-situ one-pot strategy is developed for the first time to synthesize molybdenum carbide nanoparticles (Mo₂C NPs) incorporated on nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) co-doped stereotaxically carbon (SC). The optimized Mo₂C NPs/N, P–SC–800 electrocatalyst exhibits lower overpotentials of 131 and 287 mV for HER and OER to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 in 1.0 M KOH medium with smaller Tafel slopes of 58.9 and 74.4 mV/dec, respectively. In addition, an electrolyzer using Mo₂C NPs/N, P–SC–800 electrode as cathode and anode delivers a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 at a small voltage of 1.64 V for overall water splitting. The excellent water splitting performance could be ascribed to optimum Mo₂C NPs for more accessible active sites, highly active N, P-SC networks for accelerated electron transfers, and synergetic effect between Mo₂C NPs and N, P-SC networks. The N, P-SC network not only enhances the overall dispersion of Mo₂C NPs but also contributes numerous electroactive edges to enhance the performance of HER, OER, and overall water splitting activity. This research work explores the in-situ one-step strategies of advanced, cost-effective, and non-precious metal electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting and motivates the consideration of a novel class of heteroatom doped stereotaxically carbon nanocomposites for sustainable energy production.