Seawater electrolysis has attracted much attention as
an environmentally
friendly technology for hydrogen production. However, the presence
of chloride ions, microorganisms, and other impurities in seawater
hinders the development of seawater electrolysis, so it is crucial
to construct catalysts with high catalytic activity and corrosion
resistance. In this work, morphology modulation, Fe doping, and carbon
composites were simultaneously achieved by the ion-exchange method
and a subsequent selenization process. The prepared Fe-NiMoSe@C bifunctional
catalyst with a hollow nanorod structure exhibited excellent catalytic
activity and corrosion resistance in alkaline seawater, requiring
only 362 and 354 mV to reach 500 mA cm–2 for HER
and OER, while the electrolyzer assembled from it required only 1.83
V to drive 100 mA cm–2, with a Faraday efficiency
close to 100% and stability up to 100 h. It was shown that the Fe
doping optimizes the electronic environment and accelerates the reaction
kinetics, the hollow nanorod structure exposes more active sites,
and the carbon layer can resist corrosion by seawater, making Fe-NiMoSe@C
an excellent bifunctional catalyst for seawater electrolysis.