On-site evolution of bifunctional NiCoP nanosheet electrode for electrocatalytic Co-produce acetate and hydrogen from ethanol

Conventional water electrolysis for hydrogen production suffers from high energy consumption and low-value anodic products. Herein, we present a bifunctional NiCoP nanosheet array electrode on nickel foam for electrocatalytic ethanol reforming, enabling simultaneous production of hydrogen and acetate. The electrode exhibits high performance for both anodic ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media, achieving a current density of 100 mA cm −2 at an EOR potential of only 1.325 V vs. RHE and an HER overpotential of 165 mV, with a high Faradaic efficiency of over 90% toward acetate. A symmetric electrolyzer assembled with NiCoP electrodes delivers 100 mA cm −2 at a cell voltage of 1.542 V, significantly lower than that of conventional water electrolysis (1.656 V) and it shows high catalytic stability during the 50 h' operation. Mechanistic studies reveal that the phosphide structure facilitates the in situ formation of stable high-valence Ni species and a synergistic Ni Co effect at the anode, while generating a metal–hydroxide interface at the cathode, jointly contributing to the enhanced bifunctional performance.