自旋电子学-光催化产氢交叉学科研究中的测试表征技术进展（英文）

清洁能源的研究和开发为解决化石燃料的日益枯竭问题带来了希望.氢能燃烧热值高,产物零污染,是理想的清洁能源.利用太阳能,通过光催化反应从水中制取氢气,是一条极有发展前景的制氢途径.然而,太阳能光催化制氢的发展受到许多因素的限制,特别是光电子传输过程中的电子-空穴复合及能量损失导致的电子输运效率低以及高的产氢产氧过电位导致水分解过程的势垒增大.自旋电子学的发展,为太阳能光催化制氢中的这些问题提供了解决之道.通过将自旋电子学的思路及原理应用于太阳能光催化制氢,借助自旋输运及电子隧穿可有效提高电子的输运效率,光电子的自旋极化还可降低产氢产氧过电位并抑制副产物的生成.测试表征技术的发展为揭示自旋电子学-太阳能光催化制氢交叉科学的内秉机理做出了重要贡献.然而,目前尚无相关文籍对此类测试表征技术的发展进行总结和评述.考虑到这些测试表征技术在自旋电子学-太阳能光催化制氢交叉科学研究中的重要作用,对它们进行归纳和总结,评述其发展面临的问题与挑战,探索并合理预测其未来的发展方向.     

半导体光催化分解水的析氢效率研究

光催化水制氢是太阳能向氢能转化的有效途径,在清洁能源利用方面具有较大的潜力。光催化产氢过程主要包括光生电子和空穴对的产生、迁移以及在表面活性位点的氧化还原反应,在此过程中由于电子-空穴对的复合以及催化剂的结构和表面活性位点的局限,导致电子和空穴不能完全迁移到催化剂表面并参与氧化还原反应,从而降低了析氢效率。因此本文以抑制光生电子-空穴对复合及增加表面活性位点为目的,从调控催化剂微观特性和外在属性两方面入手,分析总结了目前常见的半导体催化剂粒径、形貌、晶面、表面活性位点调控手段以及异质结构建和助催化剂负载的方法,探究了上述因素对催化剂析氢效率的影响途径和方式,从中归纳出提升析氢效率的办法。最后对光催化制氢的未来研究方向进行了展望,希望以此为光催化产氢效率的提高提供借鉴。     

非贵金属助催化剂Ni3N修饰g-C3N4用于可见光催化产氢的研究

近年来,利用太阳光光解水制氢被认为是解决当前能源短缺和环境污染问题的重要途径之一.众所周知,助催化剂可以有效的降低光催化产氢反应的活化能,提供产氢反应的活性位点,有效的促进催化剂中光生载流子的传输与分离,从而提高光催化剂产氢体系的反应活性和稳定性.然而,鉴于贵金属助催化剂(Pt, Au和Pd等)储量低、成本高,极大地制约了其应用.因而,开发出适用于光催化水分解制氢的非贵金属助催化剂尤为重要.石墨相氮化碳(g-C_3N_4)因其具有热稳定性、化学稳定性高以及制备成本低廉等优点,成为光催化领域研究的热点.然而,由于g-C_3N_4的禁带宽度(Eg=2.7 eV)较宽,致使其对可见光的响应能力较弱,并且在光催化反应过程中其光生电子-空穴对易复合,从而导致其光催化产氢活性较低.因此,如何开发出含非贵金属助催化剂的g-C_3N_4高效、稳定的太阳光催化分解水制氢体系引起了人们极大的关注.本文通过水热法-高温氨化法首次将非贵金属Ni_3N作为助催化剂来修饰g-C_3N_4,增强其可见光光催化性能(l420 nm).采用XRD、SEM、EDS、Mapping、UV-Vis、XPS和TEM等手段对Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4光催化体系进行了表征.结果表明, Ni_3N纳米颗粒成功的负载到g-C_3N_4表面且没有改变g-C_3N_4的层状结构.此外,采用荧光光谱分析(PL)、阻抗测试(EIS)和光电流谱进行表征,结果显示, Ni_3N纳米颗粒可有效促进催化剂中光生载流子的传输与分离,抑制电子-空穴对的复合.同时,将功率为300 W且装有紫外滤光片(λ420 nm)的氙灯作为可见光光源进行光催化产氢实验结果表明,引入了一定量的Ni_3N可以极大提高g-C_3N_4的光催化活性,其中, Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4#3的产氢量为～305.4μmol·h-1·g-1,大约是单体g-C_3N_4的3倍.此外,在450nm单色光照射下, Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4光催化产氢体系的量子效率能达到～0.45%,表明Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4具有将入射电子转化为氢气的能力.循环产氢实验表明, Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4在光催化产氢过程中有着较好的产氢活性和稳定性.最后,阐述了Ni_3N/g-C_3N_4体系的光催化产氢反应机理.本文采用的原料价格低廉,性能优异,制备简单,所制材料在光催化制氢领域展现出重要前景.     

光催化分解水制氢反应中助催化剂的作用及机理（英文）

近年来,随着一次能源过度消耗所带来的能源和环境问题日益突出,开发廉价、可持续的清洁能源备受关注.光催化分解水制氢可利用太阳能普遍率高和几乎免费等特点制取燃烧热值高、燃烧产物无污染的氢气能源.自从1972年日本的Fujishima教授和Honda教授首次发现TiO2单晶电极光催化分解水可以产生氢气以来,光催化制氢被认为是实现可持续制氢最有潜力的方法之一.有效地将太阳能转换为化学能的关键是设计高效的电荷分离和运输结构.然而,现有的大多数半导体光催化剂因缺少活性位点、光生载流子易复合等缺点而无法达到较高的转换效率.因此,如何提高半导体光催化产氢的转换效率是现阶段面对的重要问题.在众多解决方法中,助催化剂的引入可以为光催化制氢反应增加活性位点,促进光生载流子的有效分离,进而有效地提高半导体光催化产氢速率.本文总结了多种不同类型的助催化剂应用于光催化产氢研究的最新进展,详细讨论了助催化剂在增强光吸收、提供活性位点、增加催化剂稳定性和促进电荷分离等方面的作用,阐明了助催化剂在光催化分解水制氢中的反应机理,同时还提出了光催化制氢的未来研究和预测.本文将助催化剂分为以下几种类别进行讨论:(1)单一助催化剂,包括金属/合金、金属氧化物/氢氧化物、金属磷化物、金属硫化物、碳基材料等助催化剂材料;(2)双助催化剂;(3)Z-Scheme助催化剂;(4)MOFs助催化剂.近年来,助催化剂材料在光催化产氢中应用的发展趋势从当初价格昂贵的贵金属趋于价格相对低廉的非贵金属,从单一体系趋于更复杂的体系.虽然现阶段关于助催化剂与基底之间的匹配还需要进一步研究,但我们相信随着技术的发展,这些问题都可以迎刃而解.希望在不久的将来,可以精确设计和构建出具有高效光催化产氢活性的催化剂体系,开发出更多新的可再生清洁能源,从而缓解能源紧缺和环境恶化等棘手问题.     

太阳能光催化制氢研究进展

随着人类社会的快速发展和传统能源的急剧消耗,能源紧缺和环境污染已经成为制约人类社会可持续发展的重要因素,构建清洁的环境友好的可再生新能源体系是当前各国高度关注的焦点和重大战略.在众多绿色环保、可持续新能源选项中,半导体光催化制氢因其可利用清洁可再生的太阳能制取高效清洁氢能,有望完全解决能源紧缺和环境污染问题,成为最有应用前景的技术之一. 本文通过概述半导体光催化制氢原理、半导体光电化学及光电稳定性、半导体光催化制氢效率,重点介绍半导体光催化剂、光生电荷分离及光催化制氢体系等方面若干新进展,并对太阳能光催化制氢技术的发展加以评述和展望.     

二硫化钼基复合材料的合成及光催化降解与产氢特性

随着环境污染和能源短缺的加剧,无污染环境修复技术及清洁能源替代工程已成为一项重要而紧迫的任务。作为层状结构的过渡金属硫化物,二硫化钼带隙较窄,边缘具有高的反应活性,容易与其他物质形成复合结构,是近年来光催化环境修复及清洁能源领域的研究热点。本文详细介绍了半导体二硫化钼及其复合物的合成方法和光催化降解与产氢行为,重点阐述了二硫化钼及其复合物的具体复合方式、光催化降解污染物活性、光催化产氢活性以及具体的降解与产氢机理等方面的内容,并举例说明。二硫化钼及其复合物在光催化降解污染物和光催化产氢方面具有绿色、廉价、高效等优点,在环境修复及清洁能源领域具有巨大的潜力和应用发展前景。     

ZIF-9（Co）衍生物磷化钴复合CeVO4协同高效产氢性能（英文）

众所周知,太阳能是一种清洁,可持续的能源.如何更有效地利用太阳能来解决人类面临的能源和环境问题已成为近几十年来科研工作者们的研究热点.半导体光催化技术被认为是人工光合作用的主要发现.光催化技术是解决日益严重的能源短缺和环境污染问题的有效途径,越来越受到人们的关注.氢作为理想的清洁能源,具有燃烧价值高,无污染的优点.光催化制氢技术的应用是最具发展性的制氢方法之一.因此,有效光催化剂的设计和开发显得十分重要.由于光催化析氢反应(HER)主要是半反应,因此必须引入牺牲试剂.同时,光敏剂的存在加速了光催化剂对光的吸收.在这种情况下研究光催化材料的结构和性质之间的关系至关重要,它能指导人们开发低成本,高稳定性,高活性的析氢光催化剂.本文首次成功地合成了以ZIF-9(Co-MOFs)作为前驱体的CoP纳米粒子,并通过简单的化学沉淀法制备了CeVO4光催化剂.深入研究了CoP,CeVO4及其复合催化剂的光催化制氢性能.发现CoP/CeVO4复合催化剂在染料敏化条件下表现出优异的光催化活性.当CoP和CeVO4结合质量比为1:1时,所得样品V1C1的复合光催化活性对于析氢最佳,在5 h内氢产生量达到444.6μmol.由于CeVO4和CoP偶联是一步完成.CeVO4牢固地粘附在CoP颗粒的表面上,形成“小点”到“大点”异质结.XRD,XPS,SEM,EDX和TEM的结果显示,CoP和CeVO4纳米颗粒的形成和复合物的结构.基于对Mott-Schottky曲线,UV-vis漫射光谱,光电流-时间曲线,Tafel曲线,奈奎斯特曲线,线性伏安曲线和稳态/瞬态荧光测量结果表明,CoP/CeVO4高效析氢的原因是CoP和CeVO4复合后存在肖特基势垒,导致能带发生弯曲,并且CoP与CeVO4之间异质结所形成的内建电场能加速电荷转移.此外,CoP和CeVO4之间独特的协同效应为彼此提供了新的析氢活性中心.提高了载流子分离效率,降低了光生载流子复合率.因此,CoP/CeVO4复合催化剂具有优异的光催化析氢活性.本文为过渡金属磷化物光催化剂的电子结构和载流子行为的调控提供了新的策略.     

S-Scheme异质结光催化产氢研究进展（英文）

随着不可再生能源的大量消耗,能源短缺成为人类社会面临的重大挑战。在众多新能源制备技术中,光催化分解水制氢技术只需丰富的太阳能作为驱动力就可以实现分解水制氢,且制氢条件温和、绿色无污染,被认为是解决当前能源短缺危机的有效技术之一。光催化制氢技术的核心是光催化剂,因此发展高效稳定的光催化剂至关重要。然而,单组分光催化剂由于空穴-电子复合速度快、氧化还原能力有限、太阳能利用效率低等原因,通常只能呈现出有限的光催化分解水制氢活性。为此,科研人员做了大量改性研究,其中常见的改性策略有元素掺杂、助催化剂修饰、构建异质结等。通常,元素掺杂、助催化剂修饰等改性手段可以在一定程度上提高光催化剂的制氢活性,但并不能有效解决单相光催化剂的缺陷,导致其改性效果受到制约。然而,在两个或多个半导体之间构建异质结可以有效解决上述单组分光催化剂的缺陷。相较于当前流行的传统II型异质结和Z-型异质结,S-型异质结的电荷转移机制更为合理,受到科学家们的广泛关注与应用。因此,本文首先对S-型异质结光催化体系的发展背景进行介绍,包括传统II型异质结、全固态Z-型异质结和液相Z-型异质结光催化系统。随后对S-型异质结光催化机理...     

一维硫化镉/二维二硫化钨纳米异质结用于超高活性光催化制氢

基于半导体的太阳能光催化分解水制氢技术是一种环境友好、潜力巨大的绿色氢能制造方案.常用的块体半导体材料一般具有较弱的可见光吸收、快速的光生载流子复合以及较低的光催化制氢效率等缺点.因此,设计开发具有宽光谱光吸收、稳定性好、催化活性高的太阳能光催化材料是促进光催化制氢发展的关键,也是该研究方向的挑战之一.硫化镉纳米材料是一种常见的光催化材料,虽然表现出较好的光催化产氢性能,但是其载流子复合速率较快,可见光区响应较弱,且光腐蚀现象严重.本文可控制备了一种富含1T金属相的二硫化钨纳米片,并将其作为助催化剂与一维硫化镉纳米棒进行有效耦合,成功构筑一维硫化镉/二维二硫化钨混合维度纳米异质结,高效提升了硫化镉半导体材料的光解水制氢活性和稳定性.高分辨透射电镜和元素分布结果表明,一维硫化镉纳米棒和二维二硫化钨纳米片高效耦合形成混合维度异质结;X射线光电子能谱结果表明,异质结中的Cd₃d₅/2和Cd₃d₃/2相比于纯硫化镉向高能量区移动了0.6eV,而W元素峰相比于纯硫化钨向低能量区移动了0.4eV,进一步表明一维硫化镉纳米棒和二维二硫化钨纳米片间存在较强的界面耦合作用.光电流响应、阻抗谱等光电化学测试以及原位电子顺磁共振谱的结果表明,一维硫化镉/二维二硫化钨混合维度纳米异质结具有比纯相硫化镉纳米棒更高的光生载流子浓度和更快的载流子分离传输速率.可见光激发的光催化制氢性能测试结果表明,100 mg硫化镉纳米棒与10 mg二硫化钨纳米片组装形成的纳米异质结材料(WC-10)表现出较高的光催化析氢活性和光稳定性.在可见光照射下,肉眼可见光催化体系中快速产生大量气泡,计算出的光催化产氢速率接近70 mmol·g^-1·h^-1.     

原位构筑质子化氮化碳/碳化钛光催化制氢肖特基异质结

氢气因其具有高燃烧热、可再生性以及燃烧产物无污染等优势被认为是一种绿色可再生能源,是取代化石燃料的候选能源之一.然而,如何利用自然界中丰富的太阳能和水资源实现光分解水制氢的关键在于开发高效的光催化剂.在尺寸明确、能级带隙匹配的纳米材料间进行完美的界面复合(异质结构筑)是实现高效太阳能-氢能转换的最佳途径.石墨相氮化碳(CN)材料因其电子结构可调和化学性能稳定等特性被光催化界所关注.然而,氮化碳材料较弱的电学性能如电荷传输能力差及电子-空穴对复合率高导致其表现出较低的光催化制氢效率.基于此,我们用盐酸对氮化碳进行质子化处理,使材料表面电荷发生改变,从而实现氮化碳的电子带隙调节和电导率提升.在此基础上,将二维碳化钛原位负载于质子化的氮化碳(PCN)纳米片表面构筑肖特基结.PCN纳米片与碳化钛纳米片间的良好界面接触促进了电荷在材料界面上传输,进而加速了氮化碳材料的电荷分离,实现了氮化碳光催化剂活性的提升.Zeta电位测试结果显示,CN和PCN的表面电位分别为?9.5和27.3 mV,表明质子化处理可以有效改变材料表面电荷,并促其与碳化钛纳米片进行静电组装.该结果进一步得到了扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和原子力显微镜(AFM)的证实.改变表面电荷使氮化碳材料的能带宽度由2.53 eV(CN)减小到2.41 eV(PCN),增强了可见光区吸收.同时,PCN的光电流密度提升了约4倍,电子阻抗和激发态电子的辐射复合都显著降低.将PCN与碳化钛复合制得复合材料(PCN-x,x=10,20,40),实验结果表明5 g的PDN最佳负载碳化钛的量为20 mg(PCN-20).在标准太阳模拟器的可见光区(>420 nm),复合材料PCN-20的光催化水分解产氢量可达2181μmol·g-1,是CN催化剂的约5.5倍,PCN的2.7倍,并且经过5次产氢循环后PCN-20仍具有稳定的氢气释放速率.以上结果表明,氮化碳材料可以通过质子化处理以及与适量的碳化钛复合实现光催化产氢性能的提升,其中碳化钛在体系中起助催化剂的作用.该研究结果可为其他半导体光催化剂的性能优化以及非贵金属助催化剂的研究提供新思路.     

电沉积多孔复合Ni-P/LaNi5电极及其析氢电催化性能

采用复合电沉积制备了Ni-P/(LaNi₅+Al) 复合镀层, 然后将镀层浸泡在浓碱液中除铝, 成功得到多孔复合Ni-P/LaNi₅电极. 通过扫描电镜(SEM)、能谱分析(EDS)和X射线衍射(XRD)仪等技术表征了电极的表面形貌、组成和相结构. 运用电化学线性伏安扫描(LSV)、恒电位电解、电化学阻抗谱(EIS)等手段研究了电极在20%(w) NaOH溶液中的析氢反应(HER)电催化性和稳定性. 结果表明, 与多孔Ni-P 电极相比, 多孔复合Ni-P/LaNi₅电极具有低的析氢过电位、高的比表面积和高的稳定性能; 多孔Ni-P/LaNi₅电极的析氢反应的表观活化自由能为35.44 kJ·mol^-1, 低于多孔Ni-P 的值(50.91 kJ·mol^-1).     

Heteroatom‐doped MoSe2 Nanosheets with Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Kinetics for Alkaline Water Splitting

Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation is a vital part for the prospect of future energy systems, however, the practical utilization relies on the development of highly active and earth‐abundant catalysts to boost the energy conversion efficiency as well as reduce the cost. Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) is a promising nonprecious metal‐based electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media, but it exhibits inferior alkaline HER kinetics in great part due to the sluggish water adsorption/dissociation process. Herein, the alkaline HER kinetics of MoSe₂ is substantially accelerated by heteroatom doping with transition metal ions. Specifically, the Ni‐doped MoSe₂ nanosheets exhibit the most impressive catalytic activity in terms of lower overpotential and larger exchange current density. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation results reveal that Ni/Co doping plays a key role in facilitating water adsorption as well as optimizing hydrogen adsorption. The present work paves a new way to the development of low‐cost and efficient electrocatalysts towards alkaline HER.     

Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis Using Cobalt Nanotubes Decorated with Titanium Dioxide Nanodots

TiO₂ Co nanotubes decorated with nanodots (TiO₂ NDs/Co NSNTs‐CFs) are reported as high‐performance earth‐abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline solution. TiO₂ NDs/Co NSNTs can promote water adsorption and optimize the free energy of hydrogen adsorption. More importantly, the absorbed water can be easily activated in the presence of the TiO₂–Co hybrid structure. These advantages will significantly promote HER. TiO₂ NDs/Co NSNTs‐CFs as electrocatalysts show a high catalytic performance towards HER in alkaline solution. This study will open up a new avenue for designing and fabricating low‐cost high‐performance HER catalysts.     

原位生长Pd/Ni(OH)2/NF复合催化剂及其析氢性能

采用水热合成法在泡沫镍上原位构建了低贵金属含量的钯/氢氧化镍纳米复合催化剂（Pd/Ni（OH）₂/NF）。通过扫描电镜,能谱仪,X射线衍射仪和X射线光电子谱仪等分析技术表征了催化剂的形貌和微观结构;运用线性扫描伏安法,电化学阻抗谱和计时电流法等手段研究了催化剂的催化析氢性能。实验结果显示复合催化剂具有特殊的微观构型,超薄的Ni（OH）₂薄片生长在泡沫镍表面,纳米尺寸的钯均匀地镶嵌在氢氧化镍薄片中。催化剂表面的氢氧化镍有利于促进水的解离,加快氢中间体的形成;均匀分散的钯极易吸附解离的氢中间体,快速地复合成氢气分子。我们发现复合催化剂能协同加快析氢反应过程,极大地降低析氢过电位,提高了析氢活性。此外,复合催化剂原位生长在泡沫镍上,有效地提高了催化电极的稳定性。     

High Valence State Sites as Favorable Reductive Centers for High-Current-Density Water Splitting

Electrochemical water splitting is a promising approach for producing sustainable and clean hydrogen. Typically, high valence state sites are favorable for oxidation evolution reaction (OER), while low valence states can facilitate hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, here we proposed a high valence state of Co³⁺ in Ni_9.5Co_0.5−S−FeO_x hybrid as the favorable center for efficient and stable HER, while structural analogues with low chemical states showed much worse performance. As a result, the Ni_9.5Co_0.5−S−FeO_x catalyst could drive alkaline HER with an ultra-low overpotential of 22 mV for 10 mA cm⁻², and 175 mV for 1000 mA cm⁻² at the industrial temperature of 60 °C, with an excellent stability over 300 h. Moreover, this material could work for both OER and HER, with a low cell voltage being 1.730 V to achieve 1000 mA cm⁻² for overall water splitting at 60 °C. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) clearly identified the high valence Co³⁺ sites, while in situ XAS during HER and theoretical calculations revealed the favorable electron capture at Co³⁺ and suitable H adsorption/desorption energy around Co³⁺, which could accelerate the HER. The understanding of high valence states to drive reductive reactions may pave the way for the rational design of energy-related catalysts.     

High Catalytic Activity of Nitrogen and Sulfur Co‐Doped Nanoporous Graphene in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Chemical doping has been demonstrated to be an effective way to realize new functions of graphene as metal‐free catalyst in energy‐related electrochemical reactions. Although efficient catalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been achieved with doped graphene, its performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is rather poor. In this study we report that nitrogen and sulfur co‐doping leads to high catalytic activity of nanoporous graphene in HER at low operating potential, comparable to the best Pt‐free HER catalyst, 2D MoS₂. The interplay between the chemical dopants and geometric lattice defects of the nanoporous graphene plays the fundamental role in the superior HER catalysis.     

In Situ Growth of Ultrafine Pt Nanoparticles onto Hierarchical Co3O4 Nanosheet-Assembled Microflowers for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The development of Pt-based electrocatalysts with high Pt utilization efficiency toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great significance for the future sustainable hydrogen economy. For rational design of high-performance HER electrocatalyst, the simultaneous consideration of both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects remains greatly challenging. Herein, a simple template-derived strategy is demonstrated for the in situ growth of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles onto Co₃O₄ nanosheet-assembled microflowers (abbreviated as Pt/Co₃O₄ microflowers hereafter) by using the pre-fabricated PtCo-based Hofmann coordination polymer as reactive templates. The elaborate preparation of such intriguing hierarchical architecture with well-dispersed tiny Pt nanoparticles, abundant metal/oxide heterointerfaces and open configuration endows the formed Pt/Co₃O₄ microflowers with high Pt utilization efficiency, rich active sites, lowered energy barrier for water dissociation and expedited reaction kinetics. Consequently, the Pt/Co₃O₄ microflowers exhibit superior HER activity with a relatively low overpotential of 34 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², small Tafel slope (34 mV dec⁻¹) and outstanding electrochemical stability, representing an attractive electrocatalyst for practical water splitting. What's more, our concept of in situ construction of metal/oxide heterointerfaces may provide a new opportunity to design high-performance electrocatalysts for a variety of applications.     

An Efficient RuTe2/Graphene Catalyst for Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acid Electrolyte

Developing efficient powder catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the acidic electrolyte is significant for hydrogen generation in the proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis technique. Herein, we demonstrated an efficient catalyst for HER in the acid media based on the graphene supported ruthenium telluride nanoparticles (RuTe₂/Gr). The catalysts were easily fabricated by a facile microwave irradiation/thermal annealing approach, and orthorhombic RuTe₂ crystals were found anchored over the graphene surface. The defective structure was demonstrated in the aberration‐corrected transmission electron microscopy images for RuTe₂ crystals and graphene support. This catalyst required an overpotential of 72 mV to drive 10 mA cm^?2 for HER when loading on the inert glass carbon electrode; Excellent catalytic stability in acidic media was also observed to offer 10 mA cm^?2 for 10 hours. The Volmer‐Tafel mechanism was indicated on RuTe₂/Gr catalyst by Tafel slope of 33 mV dec^?1, similar to that of Pt/C catalysts. The high catalytic performance of RuTe₂/Gr could be attributed to its high dispersion on the graphene surface, high electrical conductivity and low charge transfer resistance. This powder catalyst has potential application in the PEM water electrolysis technique because of its low cost and high stability.     

Heterostructures of NiFe LDH hierarchically assembled on MoS2 nanosheets as high-efficiency electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Typically, rational interfacial engineering can effectively modify the adsorption energy of active hydrogen molecules to improve water splitting efficiency. NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) composite, an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst, suffers from slow hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) kinetics, restricting its application for overall water splitting. Herein, we construct the hierarchical MoS₂/NiFe LDH nanosheets with a heterogeneous interface used for HER and OER. Benefiting the hierarchical heterogeneous interface optimized hydrogen Gibbs free energy, tens of exposed active sites, rapid mass- and charge-transfer processes, the MoS₂/NiFe LDH displays a highly efficient synergistic electrocatalytic effect. The MoS₂/NiFe LDH electrode in 1 mol/L KOH exhibits excellent HER activity, only 98 mV overpotential at 10 mA/cm². Significantly, when it assembled as anode and cathode for overall water splitting, only 1.61 V cell voltage was required to achieve 10 mA/cm² with excellent durability (50 h).     

Dinitrosyl iron complexes: From molecular electrocatalysts to electrodeposited‐film electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction

Clean and large‐scale production of hydrogen via water splitting triggered by active, robust, and low‐cost electrocatalysts is a promising and sustainable strategy for energy conversion and storage. In this study, a series of four‐coordinated chelating amine‐bound {Fe(NO)₂}¹⁰ dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) [(L)Fe(NO)₂] were synthesized to investigate how the electronic structure of [Fe(NO)₂] unit of DNICs was tailored to promote the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) triggered by the homogeneous DNICs' molecular catalysts and the heterogeneous DNIC‐derived electrodeposited‐film electrodes. The electrochemical studies demonstrate that HER onset potentials of those DNICs in neutral sodium sulfate aqueous solution are dependent on their IR ν_(NO) stretching frequencies, indicating that the electron‐rich [Fe(NO)₂] core modulated by the synergistic cooperation of the electron‐donating ability and steric effect of methyl‐/hydrogen‐substituted diamine‐coordinated ligands, presumably, benefits the formation of metal‐hydride intermediate to reduce the required onset potential. In contrast with homogeneous catalyst retaining its molecular integrity during the catalytic HER process, it is noticed that DNICs [(L)Fe(NO)₂] act as the precursor of the active heterogeneous HER catalyst during the electrocatalytic HER process. It is presumed that the intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interactions among DNICs [(L)Fe(NO)₂] may control the particle sizes of DNIC‐derived electrodeposited film to modulate HER efficiency.