Cobalt carbonate hydroxides anchored on nanoscale pyrenely-graphdiyne nanowalls toward bifunctional electrocatalysts with high performance and stability for overall water splitting

Focusing on renewable energy, we developed an efficient and robust catalyst for overall water splitting (OWS). Using density functional theory (DFT) as the guide, a combination electrode with bifunctional activities based on Co-based carbonate hydroxides (CCHs) and pyrenely-graphdiyne nanowalls (Pyr-GDY-NWs) with three-dimensional structures was designed, and then a series of experiments were attempted to prepare the combination electrode CCH@Pyr-GDY-NWs. From the data of theory and experiment, we found that the combination electrode CCH@Pyr-GDY-NWs exhibits an outstanding catalytic activity towards OWS. The design approach reported herein could open up a new avenue for the construction of three-dimensional Pyr-GDY-NW-based electrodes with high catalytic activity.