Water splitting over graphene-based catalysts: Ab initio calculations

Abstract

We present first-principles modeling of water oxidation over various graphene systems, such as nitrogen-doped graphene; graphene monolayers on iron, nickel, and copper surfaces; and bi- and trilayer graphene on copper surfaces. It is shown that nitrogen-doped graphene and graphene over copper are better for this reaction than those over platinum at temperatures below 100 °C. Bi- and trilayer graphene on copper have catalytic properties similar to those of a monolayer on copper.