Currently, platinum (Pt)-based catalysts are still the most efficient and durable HER catalysts in both acid and alkaline media 5, 6, 7, 8. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a half-reaction of water splitting, plays a key role in many sustainable energy conversion technologies, such as electrolysis 1, 2, photoelectrochemical water splitting 3, 4, etc. Our theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the tensile strain strongly couples the atomic, electronic structure properties and the activity of the cobalt(II) oxide surface, which results in the creation of a large quantity of oxygen vacancies that facilitate water dissociation, and fine tunes the electronic structure to weaken hydrogen adsorption toward the optimum region. They are competitive with the best electrocatalysts for this reaction in alkaline media so far. Here, we show that strain engineering of the outermost surface of cobalt(II) oxide nanorods can turn them into efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Earth-abundant transition metal oxide-based catalysts are particularly active for oxygen evolution reaction however, they are generally considered inactive toward hydrogen evolution reaction. Designing high-performance and cost-effective electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions in water–alkali electrolyzers is pivotal for large-scale and sustainable hydrogen production.
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