biostudies-literatureGanguly AUS-Ireland Research and Development Partnership ProgrammeEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council12339-12352https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10941191biostudies-literatureUnknown16(10)Progress in electrochemical water-splitting devices as future renewable and clean energy systems requires the development of electrodes composed of efficient and earth-abundant bifunctional electrocatalysts. This study reveals a novel flexible and bifunctional electrode (<i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i>) by hybridizing macroscopically assembled carbon nanotube ribbons (<b><i>CNTRs</i></b>) and atmospheric plasma-synthesized NiO quantum dots (QDs) with varied loadings to demonstrate bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for stable and efficient overall water-splitting (OWS) applications. Comparative studies on the effect of different electrolytes, e.g., acid and alkaline, reveal a strong preference for alkaline electrolytes for the developed <i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i> electrode, suggesting its bifunctionality for both HER and OER activities. Our proposed <i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i> electrode demonstrates significantly enhanced overall catalytic performance in a two-electrode alkaline electrolyzer cell configuration by assembling the same electrode materials as both the anode and the cathode, with a remarkable long-standing stability retaining ∼100% of the initial current after a 100 h long OWS run, which is attributed to the "synergistic coupling" between NiO QD catalysts and the CNTR matrix. Interestingly, the developed electrode exhibits a cell potential (<i>E</i>₁₀) of only 1.81 V with significantly low NiO QD loading (83 μg/cm²) compared to other catalyst loading values reported in the literature. This study demonstrates a potential class of carbon-based electrodes with single-metal-based bifunctional catalysts that opens up a cost-effective and large-scale pathway for further development of catalysts and their loading engineering suitable for alkaline-based OWS applications and green hydrogen generation.ACS applied materials & interfacesFlexible Bifunctional Electrode for Alkaline Water Splitting with Long-Term Stability.PMC10941191EP/M015211/1EP/T016000/1EP/V055232/1EP/R008841/1USI160Ganguly AMariotti DMcGlynn RJBoies AMaguire PChakrabarti SfalseFlexible Bifunctional Electrode for Alkaline Water Splitting with Long-Term Stability.Progress in electrochemical water-splitting devices as future renewable and clean energy systems requires the development of electrodes composed of efficient and earth-abundant bifunctional electrocatalysts. This study reveals a novel flexible and bifunctional electrode (<i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i>) by hybridizing macroscopically assembled carbon nanotube ribbons (<b><i>CNTRs</i></b>) and atmospheric plasma-synthesized NiO quantum dots (QDs) with varied loadings to demonstrate bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for stable and efficient overall water-splitting (OWS) applications. Comparative studies on the effect of different electrolytes, e.g., acid and alkaline, reveal a strong preference for alkaline electrolytes for the developed <i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i> electrode, suggesting its bifunctionality for both HER and OER activities. Our proposed <i><b>NiO@CNTR</b></i> electrode demonstrates significantly enhanced overall catalytic performance in a two-electrode alkaline electrolyzer cell configuration by assembling the same electrode materials as both the anode and the cathode, with a remarkable long-standing stability retaining ∼100% of the initial current after a 100 h long OWS run, which is attributed to the "synergistic coupling" between NiO QD catalysts and the CNTR matrix. Interestingly, the developed electrode exhibits a cell potential (<i>E</i>₁₀) of only 1.81 V with significantly low NiO QD loading (83 μg/cm²) compared to other catalyst loading values reported in the literature. This study demonstrates a potential class of carbon-based electrodes with single-metal-based bifunctional catalysts that opens up a cost-effective and large-scale pathway for further development of catalysts and their loading engineering suitable for alkaline-based OWS applications and green hydrogen generation.2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Mar2026-06-28T03:18:06.893Z2025-04-04T20:18:43.386ZS-EPMC109411913842500810.1021/acsami.3c12944