CeO2 as an “electron pump” to boost the performance of Co4N in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution and biomass oxidation valorization

Developing multifunctional electrocatalysts with excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR) activities will contribute to "carbon neutrality". Here, CeO 2 is introduced into the Co 4 N system as an "electron pump" to attract electrons to transfer from Co 4 N to CeO 2 . The interface electronic structure optimization enables Co 4 N@CeO 2 to exhibit excellent HER, OER, and HMFOR performance. Specifically, to deliver 10 mA cm −2 current density, (1) it only requires low overpotentials of 49 and 263 mV for HER and OER in 1.0 M KOH, respectively; (2) it merely needs an ultra-low potential of 1.22 V RHE for HMFOR in 1.0 M KOH + 300 mM HMF, which is 273 mV lower than the required potential in 1.0 M KOH. Theoretical calculation results show that the introduction of CeO 2 effectively reduces the barriers for potential-determining steps of HER and OER, and optimizes OH - adsorption to promote the HMFOR process.