A Simple One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ni-Co Nanosheets as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Thuy Nguyen Son; Anh Le Thi; Thuy Hoang

doi:10.62239/jca.2026.013

Authors

Nguyen Son Thuy School of Chemistry and Life Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi, VIETNAM
Le Thi Anh School of Chemistry and Life Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi, VIETNAM
Hoang Thi Bich Thuy School of Chemistry and Life Science, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi, VIETNAM

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62239/jca.2026.013

Keywords:

water electrolysis, bifunctional electrocatalyst, OER, HER

Abstract

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for both the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) in alkaline media remains a significant challenge due to sluggish kinetics. In this study, a bifunctional Ni–Co nanosheet electrocatalyst was successfully synthesized on nickel foam via a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The results demonstrate that the Ni₈Co₂ sample exhibits superior catalytic activity, achieving low overpotentials of η₁₀₀ = 360 mV for OER and η₁₀ = 224 mV for HER. The synergistic effect between Ni and Co, combined with the open nanosheet structure, significantly enhances charge transfer and optimizes the adsorption energy of reaction intermediates. This work provides a cost-effective and scalable approach to fabricate high-performance binder-free electrodes for large-scale alkaline water electrolysis.

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