| Summary: | Electrochemical water splitting is known as a potential approach for sustainable energy conversion; it produces H<sub>2</sub> fuel by utilizing transition metal-based catalysts. We report a facile synthesis of FeCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@carbon dots (CDs) nanoflowers supported on nickel foam through a hydrothermal technique in the absence of organic solvents and an inert environment. The synthesized material with a judicious choice of CDs shows superior performance in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) compared to the FeCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> electrode alone in alkaline media. For HER, the overpotential of 205 mV was able to produce current densities of up to 10 mA cm<sup>−2</sup>, whereas an overpotential of 393 mV was needed to obtain a current density of up to 50 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> for OER. The synergistic effect between CDs and FeCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> accounts for the excellent electrocatalytic activity, since CDs offer exposed active sites and subsequently promote the electrochemical reaction by enhancing the electron transfer processes. Hence, this procedure offers an effective approach for constructing metal oxide-integrated CDs as a catalytic support system to improve the performance of electrochemical water splitting.
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