A Janus cobalt-based catalytic material for electro-splitting of water

Innovative solutions for the design of sustainable and efficient systems for the conversion and storage of renewable energy sources are needed, and one promising option is the production of hydrogen through water splitting. A nanoparticulate electrocatalytic material consisting of metallic cobalt coated with a cobalt-oxo/hydroxo-phosphate layer is now found to exhibit active hydrogen evolution, and can also be converted into a cobalt oxide film catalysing oxygen evolution.