Electrochemical water splitting has been considered as a promising strategy for hydrogen production, but the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) limits the efficiency of overall water splitting. In this communication, we report a facile strategy to realize energy-saving hydrogen generation by replacing OER with a thermodynamically more favorable aloe extract (AE) oxidation reaction (AOR). An Fe-doped CoP nanosheet array (Fe-CoP/CC) is used as a bifunctional catalyst for both AOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The Fe-CoP/CC∥Fe-CoP/CC couple requires a cell voltage of 1.51 V to drive 20 mA cm in 1.0 M KOH containing AE; however, a cell volatge of 1.63 V is required to drive the same current density in the absence of AE. Fe-CoP/CC also exhibits strong long-term electrochemical durability and nearly 100% faradaic efficiency.

Ammonia is a basic industrial chemical, which is widely used in industry and agriculture. Traditional Haber–Bosch N2 fixation process is not environmentally friendly, which not only excessively consumes energy, but releases enormous amount of greenhouse gas. Electrochemical N2 reduction is an ideal alternative to N2 fixation, but it requires effective electrocatalyst for N2 reduction reaction (NRR). Herein, we develop a flower‐like β‐Bi2O3 catalyst for artificial N2 fixation with outstanding NRR performance and selectivity in ambient condition. This β‐Bi2O3 nanoflower shows an excellent NH3 yield of 19.92 μg h−1 mg−1cat. and Faradaic Efficiency of 4.3 % at −0.8 V in 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution, better than most reported NRR electrocatalysts. This electrocatalyst also exhibits superb electrochemical stability and durability.

Energy-efficient electrochemical water splitting is one important way to produce hydrogen fuel but still faces many challenges. In this communication, we report that an amorphous Ni-P alloy shell electrodeposited on a CuO nanowire array supported on copper foam (CuO@Ni-P NA/CF) can be used for efficient water splitting in alkaline media. As a 3D catalytic electrode, it exhibits excellent activity both for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with overpotentials of 106 mV for HER and 275 mV for OER to achieve a current density of 30 mA cm in 1.0 M KOH. This bifunctional electrode enables a high-performance alkaline water electrolyzer to achieve a current density of 30 mA cm at a cell voltage of 1.71 V.