Wood derived carbon embedded with shell-core CoP@CoFe for efficient oxygen evolution

Development of hybrid materials with specific architecture, interface, and multicomponent interactions demonstrates effective paradigm for pursuing high-performance energy conversion materials. Herein, using renewable and inexpensive wood-derived carbon as host, the shell-core CoP@CoFe particles are embedded on walls of carbonized wood channels (termed as CoP@CoFe/CW) to fabricate composite catalyst for electrocatalysis oxygen evolution reaction (OER). With benefits of the well distribution of CoP@CoFe particles, high conductivity of CW with channels, and good integration between them, highly exposed catalysis surface as well as rapid charge/mass transfer are achieved. The interface effect of shell-core hybrid activates the intrinsic OER efficiency of CoP@CoFe. Thus, the designed CoP@CoFe/CW yields excellent OER performance with ultralow overpotential of 120 mV (10 mA cm−2). This strategy of catalyst design based on eco-friendliness and renewable CW host may offer promising reference to explore composite materials with high conductivity and fast mass transfer for water electrolysis and other energy storage/conversion systems.