Ag-Doped LaCoO ₃ /LaNiO ₃ Perovskite Nanostructures Integrated with Carbon Nitride for Energy-Efficient Hydrogen Production

The sluggish kinetics and high energy demand of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remain major obstacles to efficient alkaline water electrolysis. To address this limitation, alternative anodic reactions such as hydrazine oxidation, coupled with efficient hydrogen evolution, offer a promising route to reduce the overall energy consumption. Herein, an Ag-doped LaCoO 3 –LaNiO 3 perovskite integrated with graphitic carbon nitride (A-LCNO/GCN) is synthesized via a green approach and evaluated as a multifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), OER, and hydrazine oxidation (HzOR) in alkaline media. Strong interfacial interaction, consistent Ag incorporation, and electrical modulation brought about by the carbon nitride support are all revealed by structural and surface investigations. Consequently, at an overpotential of 35 mV at 10 mA cm –2, A-LCNO/GCN provides hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution at 1.59 V, and hydrazine oxidation at an ultralow potential of 0.57 V at 50 mA cm –2 . Anodic polarization is greatly reduced, while excellent catalytic efficiency is maintained when HzOR is incorporated as an alternate anodic procedure. Additionally, after extended electrochemical operation, the catalyst demonstrates exceptional durability associated with adaptive surface reconstruction. This work shows how multifunctional catalyst design can effectively reduce the energy input to alkaline electrolyzers.