Investigation of Nb ₂ AlC Max Phase Integrated With 2D GCN (Nb‐MX/GCN) as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting Reaction

Abstract Noble metal‐based electrocatalysts are impractical for large‐scale manufacture due to their high cost, limited availability, and poor long‐term stability in performing several functions. Hence, an alternative is the need of the hour that emphasizes blending metals and ceramic property materials with compelling electroconductivity. In this research, we synthesized two bare materials, Nb 2 AlC MAX (Nb‐MX) phase and graphitic carbon‐nitride (GCN) sheets using the calcination method which is then converted into a composite (Nb‐MX/GCN) material through wet impregnation technique. The electrochemical investigations were conducted to assess the catalytic efficacy of the composite material. The synthesized Nb‐MX/GCN electrocatalyst exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic efficiency for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline environment. The catalyst exhibits a significantly low overpotential of just 66 mV and 450 mV for the HER and OER performance, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in a 1.0 M KOH solution. In addition, the catalytic activity exhibited no change over 24 h which indicated the excellent stability of the material. This performance surpassed the previously reported electrocatalysts.