Tailored engineering of zinc carbide triggered by N-enriched carbon nanotubes for prospective water splitting

For practical H₂ generation, it is currently difficult to create modules for electrochemical water splitting that are efficient and inexpensive over a broad pH range. In this study, a novel ZnC₈@NCNT electrocatalyst is fabricated via simple pyrolysis of melamine with zinc chloride and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The self-assembled hybrid material was examined to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline pH range, and the ZnC₈@NCNT responds with a lower OER overpotential of 245 mV, and smaller Tafel slope of 50.0 mV dec⁻¹ with the turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.67 s⁻¹ due to its unique structure. The HER response of the generated material is quite satisfactory with an overpotential of 223 mV and a Tafel value of 107 mV dec⁻¹. The fabricated material supported by conductive CNTs increases the catalytic reactivity due to the synergistic manner, which is superior in performance as a cutting-edge catalyst for water electrolysis in an electrolytic cell. Furthermore, ZnC₈@NCNT establishes as a cost-effective alternative to expensive Ir, Pt, Pd, and Ru-based catalysts.