Polyoxomolybdate-derived carbon-encapsulated multicomponent electrocatalysts for synergistically boosting hydrogen evolution

Xiong Liu; Kun Ni; Bo Wen; Chaojiang Niu; Jiashen Meng; Ruiting Guo; Qi Li; Jiantao Li; Yanwu Zhu; Xiaojun Wu; Dongyuan Zhao; Liqiang Mai

doi:10.1039/C8TA07135G

Polyoxomolybdate-derived carbon-encapsulated multicomponent electrocatalysts for synergistically boosting hydrogen evolution†

Xiong Liu,‡^a Kun Ni,‡^c Bo Wen,^a Chaojiang Niu,*^a Jiashen Meng,^a Ruiting Guo,^a Qi Li,^a Jiantao Li,^a Yanwu Zhu,

^c Xiaojun Wu,

*^b Dongyuan Zhao

^ad and Liqiang Mai

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, China
E-mail: niuchaojiang11@whut.edu.cn, mlq518@whut.edu.cn

^b CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Synergetic Innovation of Quantum Information & Quantum Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, P. R. China
E-mail: xjwu@ustc.edu.cn

^c CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jin Zhai Rd, Hefei, Anhui 230026, P. R. China

^d Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, iChEM, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China

Abstract

The hydrogen adsorption strength and activity of each catalytic site greatly influence the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) kinetics of electrocatalysts. It remains a challenge to effectively activate catalytic sites for interfacial carbon-catalyzed electrocatalysts. Here, we report a polyoxomolybdate-derived carbon-encapsulated multicomponent catalyst with nanowire structure. The activation of catalytic sites and enhancement of HER kinetics are achieved by incorporating tiny MoO₂ and Ni nanoparticles into a N-doped carbon layer (denoted as MoO₂–Ni@NC). The MoO₂–Ni@NC catalyst possesses a remarkable HER activity and is superior to most carbon-encapsulated electrocatalysts. In particular, it achieves a low overpotential of 58 mV at −10 mA cm⁻², and a high exchange current density of 0.375 mA cm⁻² with good stability (up to 80 000 s) in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. Theoretical analyses suggest that the N-doped carbon layer acts as an active adsorption site for hydrogen. The inner MoO₂–Ni species behave as effective promoters to synergistically modulate the hydrogen adsorption strength on the interfacial carbon and enable the active sites to be more efficient. The synthesis strategy and the revealed catalytic mechanism can guide the rational design of high-efficiency carbon-encapsulated HER electrocatalysts.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Polyoxomolybdate-derived carbon-encapsulated multicomponent electrocatalysts for synergistically boosting hydrogen evolution†

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