Unveiling the Role of Mo in MnCoMo Oxide for Efficient Hydrogen Production via Alkaline Seawater Electrolysis

Direct seawater electrolysis is a promising strategy for large-scale green hydrogen production, yet it remains hindered by the poor selectivity and durability of earth-abundant electrocatalysts under…

By Raghav, Choudhary, Pandey +4ACS Applied Engineering MaterialsOct 16, 2026

Score████░░░░░░4.3

VerdictWorth a reader's time today.

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Abstract

Abstract Direct seawater electrolysis is a promising strategy for large-scale green hydrogen production, yet it remains hindered by the poor selectivity and durability of earth-abundant electrocatalysts under chloride-rich conditions. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the effect of molybdenum (Mo) content on the bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of hydrothermally synthesised MnCoMo oxide microrods grown on nickel foam (NF) substrates. Three compositions, MnCoMo_0.25, MnCoMo_0.5, and MnCoMo_0.75, were prepared by varying molybdenum concentration (0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 mmol, respectively). Electrochemically, MnCoMo_0.5 achieves the best oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance in alkaline seawater, with a Tafel slope of 69 mV dec−1. MnCoMo_0.75 delivers superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with a Tafel slope of 74 mV dec−1. Both electrodes demonstrate near-identical polarisation profiles across 1 M KOH, 1 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl, and alkaline seawater electrolytes, demonstrating exceptional chloride tolerance. These results establish Mo loading as a critical tuning parameter for bifunctional activity and provide rational design principles for high-performance, earth-abundant seawater electrolysis catalysts.

Jyoti Raghav, Divya Choudhary, Priya Pandey, Sapna Raghav, Vinay Shankar Pandey, Sunil Singh Kushvaha, Soumyendu Roy

The editor's rubric

Heuristic review

Leverage3 / 5: A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.; 16% of this desk’s rubric
Magnitude3 / 5: Large gain: roughly 2x, or a clear new state of the art on a hard, unsaturated problem.; 20% of this desk’s rubric
Evidence3 / 5: Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.; 20% of this desk’s rubric
Novelty2 / 5: A new combination of known ideas.; 10% of this desk’s rubric
Trajectory3 / 5: A clear path to scale.; 14% of this desk’s rubric
Stakes2 / 5: Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).; 20% of this desk’s rubric

Dimension	Level	Weight	What that level means
Leverage	███░░ 3	16%	A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.
Magnitude	███░░ 3	20%	Large gain: roughly 2x, or a clear new state of the art on a hard, unsaturated problem.
Evidence	███░░ 3	20%	Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.
Novelty	██░░░ 2	10%	A new combination of known ideas.
Trajectory	███░░ 3	14%	A clear path to scale.
Stakes	██░░░ 2	20%	Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).

Editor’s rationale

Heuristic triage from title and abstract text only, not a reading of the paper. Cues found: method (we report); gains (outperforms); verification (error bars); scale (scalable, efficient).

How the score was computed

rank-2026-10-18

Score████░░░░░░4.3

Score = 10 × (75% × adjusted merit / 10 + 15% × attention + 10% × freshness)

Desks place stronger verdicts first, then use this score to order work within the same verdict.

Merit: 5.4 / 10; Weighted rubric, evidence-gated.
Adjusted merit: 4.6 / 10; Shrunk toward the desk prior by editor confidence (40%).
Attention: 0%; Citations, upvotes, points, mentions.
Freshness: 85%; Half-life decay since publication.

Citations0 (reference 15, via openalex, Oct 18, 2026, 07:29 UTC)

The record

Reviewed by heuristic-v7 on Oct 18, 2026, 07:29 UTC. Paper type: method.
Categories: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion, CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts, Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Energy
BRIEF, No.2 in the Climate & Energy edition of October 18, 2026.