# Formicarium-Inspired Hierarchical Conductive Architecture for CoSe2@MoSe2 Catalysts Towards Advanced Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new catalyst design inspired by formicarium structures to improve the efficiency and durability of water electrolysis for green hydrogen production.

## Contribution

A scalable one-step selenization strategy to fabricate a formicarium-inspired CoSe2@MoSe2@NC catalyst with enhanced bifunctional activity.

## Key findings

- The catalyst achieved overpotentials of 116 mV for HER and 283 mV for OER at 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH.
- The AEMWE system reached 106 mA cm−2 at 1.9 V and retained 95% performance after 100 hours of operation.
- The design enables efficient electron transport and interfacial reaction equalization, improving catalytic activity and durability.

## Abstract

The exploration of high-performance, low-cost, and dual-function electrodes is crucial for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) to meet the relentless demand for green H2 production. In this study, a heteroatom-doped carbon-cage-supported CoSe2@MoSe2@NC catalyst with a formicarium structure has been fabricated using a scalable one-step selenization strategy. The component-refined bifunctional catalyst exhibited minimal overpotential values of 116 mV and 283 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Specifically, rationally designed heterostructures and flexible carbonaceous sponges facilitate interfacial reaction equalization, modulate local electronic distributions, and establish efficient electron transport pathways, thereby enhancing catalytic activity and durability. Furthermore, the assembled AEMWE based on the CoSe2@MoSe2@NC bifunctional catalysts can achieve a current density of 106 mA cm−2 at 1.9 V and maintain a favorable durability after running for 100 h (a retention of 95%). This work highlights a new insight into the development of advanced bifunctional catalysts with enhanced activity and durability for AEMWE.