Abstract:
A low-energy consumption hydrogen production coupling system was established, utilizing carbon cloth (CC) as a three-dimensional conductive substrate. Tungsten disulfide nanosheets (CC@WS
2) were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method to serve as a bifunctional catalyst, enabling simultaneous low-energy hydrogen production at the cathode and electrochemical oxidation degradation of hydrazine hydrate (N
2H
4) at the anode. In various media, CC@WS
2 demonstrated the exceptional catalytic activity for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and HzOR. Specifically, it delivered an overpotential of 100.15 mV for HER at a current density of -10 mA/cm², which is superior to that of various transition metal sulfides, thus significantly enhancing the hydrogen production efficiency. Additionally, the material effectively degraded hydrazine pollutants in the anode region through an electrochemical oxidation pathway. Experiments showed that, at a concentration of 0.7 mol/L N
2H
4, the anode HzOR achieved high-efficiency pollutant degradation in an environmentally-friendly and safe manner. The coupling system exhibited the outstanding catalytic performance and stability across a wide pH range. Benefiting from the low thermodynamic potential of HzOR and the high catalytic activity of CC@WS
2, the cell voltage of the water electrolysis coupling system was only 0.65 V at a current density of -10 mA/cm², which was significantly reduced by 1.18 V, compared to traditional water electrolysis, thereby achieving low-energy consumption hydrogen production.