Methanol Oxidation Reaction-assisted Cu2O/CuO with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance for Water Splitting

The methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) serves as a significant supplementary technique in the overall water splitting process and is recognized as a promising strategy for reducing the potential required to generate renewable hydrogen energy. This study presents the development of cost-effective and easily fabricated copper-based electrocatalysts through a straightforward anodization method. The resulting Cu-based electrocatalyst has been employed to evaluate the efficacy of the MOR in enhancing the water splitting process. Notably, the performance of the synthesized Cu2O/CuO electrocatalyst demonstrates a substantial improvement in the required overpotential, decreasing from 425 mV in 1.0 M KOH to 212 mV in 1.0 M KOH and 1.0 M methanol, to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2. The present work presents us a new way to reduce the necessary potential for the overall water splitting process using affordable Cu-based catalysts.