Mo−Ni-based Heterojunction with Fine-customized d-Band Centers for Hydrogen Production Coupled with Benzylamine Electrooxidation in Low Alkaline Medium

Benzylamine electrooxidation reaction (BAOR) is a promising route to produce value-added, easy-separated benzonitrile, and effectively hoist H₂ production. However, achieving excellent performance in low alkaline medium is a huge challenge. The performance is intimately correlated with effective coupling of HER and BAOR, which can be achieved by manipulating the d-electron structure of catalyst to regulate the active species from water. Herein, we constructed a biphasic Mo_0.8Ni_0.2N−Ni₃N heterojunction for enhanced bifunctional performance toward HER coupled with BAOR by customizing the d-band centers. Experimental and theoretical calculations indicate that charge transfer in the heterojunction causes the upshift of the d-band centers, which one side facilitates to decrease water activation energy and optimize H* adsorption on Mo_0.8Ni_0.2N for promoting HER activity, the other side favors to more easily produce and adsorb OH* from water for forming NiOOH on Ni₃N and optimizing adsorption energy of benzylamine, thus catalyzing BAOR effectively. Accordingly, it shows an industrial current density of 220 mA cm⁻² at 1.59 V and high Faradaic efficiencies (>99 %) for H₂ production and converting benzylamine to benzonitrile in 0.1 M KOH/0.5 M Na₂SO₄. This work guides the design of excellent bifunctional electrocatalysts for the scalable production of green hydrogen and value-added products.     

Glucose-derived carbon sphere supported CoP as efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

Glucose-derived carbon sphere supported cobalt phosphide nanoparticles(Co P/C) were synthesized via a concise two-step method. The electrochemical measurement results indicate that the Co P/C prepared at 900 ℃ presents excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER). The overpotential at a current density of 10 m A cm~(-2) is 108 and 163 mV in 0.5 M H_2SO_4 and 1 M KOH, respectively, and maintains its electrocatalytic durability for at least 10 h. This work supplies a new field to challenge the construction of electrocatalysts for HER through using cost-effective carbon supported transition metal phosphides.     

Sustainable and High-Rate Electrosynthesis of Nitrogen Fertilizer

The conventional industrial production of nitrogen-containing fertilizers, such as urea and ammonia, relies heavily on energy-intensive processes, accounting for approximately 3 % of global annual CO₂ emissions. Herein, we report a sustainable electrocatalytic approach that realizes direct and selective synthesis of urea and ammonia from co-reduction of CO₂ and nitrates under ambient conditions. With the assistance of a copper (Cu)-based salphen organic catalyst, outstanding urea (3.64 mg h⁻¹ mg_cat⁻¹) and ammonia (9.73 mg h⁻¹ mg_cat⁻¹) yield rates are achieved, in addition to a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 57.9±3 % for the former. This work proposes an appealing sustainable route to converting greenhouse gas and waste nitrates by renewable energies into value-added fertilizers.     

Pulsed Electrocatalysis Enabling High Overall Nitrogen Fixation Performance for Atomically Dispersed Fe on TiO2

Atomically dispersed Fe was designed on TiO₂ and explored as a Janus electrocatalyst for both nitrogen oxidation reaction (NOR) and nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) in a two-electrode system. Pulsed electrochemical catalysis (PE) was firstly involved to inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Excitingly, an unanticipated yield of 7055.81 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹_cat. and 12 868.33 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹_cat. were obtained for NOR and NRR at 3.5 V, respectively, 44.94 times and 7.8 times increase in FE than the conventional constant voltage electrocatalytic method. Experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the single-atom Fe could stabilize the oxygen vacancy, lower the energy barrier for the vital rupture of N≡N, and result in enhanced N₂ fixation performance. More importantly, PE could effectively enhance the N₂ supply by reducing competitive O₂ and H₂ agglomeration, inhibit the electrocatalytic by-product formation for longstanding *OOH and *H intermediates, and promote the non-electrocatalytic process of N₂ activation.     

Crystal-Phase-Engineered PdCu Electrocatalyst for Enhanced Ammonia Synthesis

Crystal phase engineering is a powerful strategy for regulating the performance of electrocatalysts towards many electrocatalytic reactions, while its impact on the nitrogen electroreduction has been largely unexplored. Herein, we demonstrate that structurally ordered body-centered cubic (BCC) PdCu nanoparticles can be adopted as active, selective, and stable electrocatalysts for ammonia synthesis. Specifically, the BCC PdCu exhibits excellent activity with a high NH₃ yield of 35.7 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹_cat, Faradaic efficiency of 11.5 %, and high selectivity (no N₂H₄ is detected) at −0.1 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, outperforming its counterpart, face-centered cubic (FCC) PdCu, and most reported nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) electrocatalysts. It also exhibits durable stability for consecutive electrolysis for five cycles. Density functional theory calculation reveals that strong orbital interactions between Pd and neighboring Cu sites in BCC PdCu obtained by structure engineering induces an evident correlation effect for boosting up the Pd 4d electronic activities for efficient NRR catalysis. Our findings open up a new avenue for designing active and stable electrocatalysts towards NRR.     

Highly Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia in Strong Acid Conditions with Fe2M-Trinuclear-Cluster Metal–Organic Frameworks

Nitrate-containing industrial wastewater poses a serious threat to the global food security and public health safety. As compared to the traditional microbial denitrification, electrocatalytic nitrate reduction shows better sustainability with ultrahigh energy efficiency and the production of high-value ammonia (NH₃). However, nitrate-containing wastewater from most industrial processes, such as mining, metallurgy, and petrochemical engineering, is generally acidic, which contradicts the typical neutral/alkaline working conditions for both denitrifying bacteria and the state-of-the-art inorganic electrocatalysts, leading to the demand for pre-neutralization and the problematic hydrogen evaluation reaction (HER) competition and catalyst dissolution. Here, we report a series of Fe₂M (M=Fe, Co, Ni, Zn) trinuclear cluster metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that enable the highly efficient electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonium under strong acidic conditions with excellent stability. In pH=1 electrolyte, the Fe₂Co-MOF demonstrates the NH₃ yield rate of 20653.5 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹_site with 90.55 % NH₃-Faradaic efficiency (FE), 98.5 % NH₃-selectivity and up to 75 hr of electrocatalytic stability. Additionally, successful nitrate reduction in high-acidic conditions directly produce the ammonium sulfate as nitrogen fertilizer, avoiding the subsequent aqueous ammonia extraction and preventing the ammonia spillage loss. This series of cluster-based MOF structures provide new insights into the design principles of high-performance nitrate reduction catalysts under environmentally-relevant wastewater conditions.     

3D Carbon Foam Supported Edge-Rich N-Doped MoS2 Nanoflakes for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is one of the most promising alternatives to the Pt-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, its performance is currently limited by insufficient active edge sites and poor electron transport. Hence, enormous efforts have been devoted to constructing more active edge sites and improving conductivity to obtain enhanced electrocatalytic performance. Herein, the 3D carbon foam (denoted as CF) supported edge-rich N-doped MoS₂ nanoflakes were successfully fabricated by using the commercially available polyurethane foam (PU) as the 3D substrate and PMo₁₂O₄₀³⁻ clusters (denoted as PMo₁₂) as the Mo source through redox polymerization, followed by sulfurization. Owing to the uniform distribution of nanoscale Mo sources and 3D carbon foam substrate, the as-prepared MoS₂-CF composite possessed well-exposed active edge sites and enhanced electrical conductivity. Systematic investigation demonstrated that the MoS₂-CF composite showed high HER performance with a low overpotential of 92 mV in 1.0 m KOH and 155 mV in 0.5 m H₂SO₄ at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻². This work offers a new pathway for the rational design of MoS₂-based HER electrocatalysts.     

Structural Transformation of SnS2 to SnS by Mo Doping Produces Electro/Photocatalyst for Hydrogen Production

SnS and SnS₂ are layered semiconductors, with potential promising properties for electro- and photocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) production. The vast knowledge in preparation and modification of layered structures was still not employed successfully in this system to fully maximize its potential. Here, the first report of structural transformation of SnS₂ into SnS with Mo-doping as a bifunctional catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is reported. The structural phase transition optimized the properties of the material, providing a more delicate morphology with additional catalytic sites. The electrochemical studies showed overpotential of 377 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² for HER with Tafel slopes of 100 mV dec⁻¹ in 0.5 m H₂SO₄ for 10 % Mo-SnS. The same structure acts as an efficient photocatalyst in the generation of H₂ from water under visible illumination with rate of 0.136 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ of H₂, which is 20 times higher than pristine SnS₂ under visible light.     

Boosting Hydrogen Production by Anodic Oxidation of Primary Amines over a NiSe Nanorod Electrode

For electrocatalytic water splitting, the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) restricts the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Therefore, developing an alternative anodic reaction with accelerating kinetics to produce value‐added chemicals, especially coupled with HER, is of great importance. Now, a thermodynamically more favorable primary amine (?CH₂?NH₂) electrooxidation catalyzed by NiSe nanorod arrays in water is reported to replace OER for enhancing HER. The increased H₂ production can be obtained at cathode; meanwhile, a variety of aromatic and aliphatic primary amines are selectively electrooxidized to nitriles with good yields at the anode. Mechanistic investigations suggest that Ni^II/Ni^III may serve as the redox active species for the primary amines transformation. Hydrophobic nitrile products can readily escape from aqueous electrolyte/electrode interface, avoiding the deactivation of the catalyst and thus contributing to continuous gram‐scale synthesis.     

Cyclodextrin-supported Co(OH)2 Clusters as Electrocatalysts for Efficient and Selective H2O2 Synthesis

Co-based material catalysts have shown attractive application prospects in the 2 e⁻ oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, for the industrial synthesis of H₂O₂, there is still lack of Co-based catalysts with high production yield rate. Here, novel cyclodextrin-supported Co(OH)₂ cluster catalysts were prepared via a mild and facile method. The catalyst exhibited remarkable H₂O₂ selectivity (94.2 % ~ 98.2 %), good stability (99 % activity retention after 35 h), and ultra-high H₂O₂ production yield rate (5.58 mol g_catalyst⁻¹ h⁻¹ in the H-type electrolytic cell), demonstrating its promising industrial application potential. Density functional theory (DFT) reveals that the cyclodextrin-mediated Co(OH)₂ electronic structure optimizes the adsorption of OOH* intermediates and significantly enhances the activation energy barrier for dissociation, leading to the high reactivity and selectivity for the 2 e⁻ ORR. This work offers a valuable and practical strategy to design Co-based electrocatalysts for H₂O₂ production.     

Tuning the Composition of PdCuNi Hollow Nanospheres for Low Cost and Efficient Catalyst Towards Glycol Electrooxidation

In this research, we reported an effective approach to prepare low cost and efficient electrocatalyst for the glycol electrooxidation. The synthetic process involves the replacement reactions between CuCl₂/H₂PdCl₄ and Ni nanospheres template. Through controlling the precursor ratio, the Pd/Cu/Ni ratio of the final trimetallic products can be tuned. The prepared electrocatalysts present a monodispersed nanospheres structure with a hollow cavity. The prepared Pd₄₁Cu₂₇Ni₉ shows the best catalytic activity (0.021 A cm⁻² at 0.9 V vs. RHE) for glycol electrooxidation, which is much higher than that of the commercial Pd/C (0.0014 A cm⁻² at 0.9 V vs. RHE).     

Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by Water-Soluble Cobalt (II), Copper (II) and Iron (III) meso-Tetrakis(carboxyl)porphyrin

Three water-soluble carboxyl metalloporphyrins, cobalt (II), copper (II) and iron (III) meso-tetrakis (carboxyl) porphyrin were prepared and applied as homogeneous electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid and water as proton sources. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results revealed the HER underwent different routes for these metalloporphyrins. Electrocatalysis tests in buffer solution of pH=7.0 showed the TOFs of cobalt (II), copper (II) and iron (III) meso-tetrakis (carboxyl) porphyrin were 184.78, 160.28 and 184.87 mol⁻¹ ⋅ h⁻¹ and the faradaic efficiency were 94.37 %, 93.01 % and 96.98 % at an overpotential of 788 mV, respectively. These results indicate the synthesized metal carboxyl porphyrins have good electrocatalytic activity for HER.     

Two-Dimensional NiIr@N-Doped Carbon Nanocomposites Supported on Ni Foam for Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Electrochemical water splitting can provide a promising avenue for sustainable hydrogen production. Highly efficient electrocatalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are extremely important for the practical application of water splitting technology. Herein, a one-step annealing strategy is reported for the fabrication of a metal–organic framework-derived bifunctional self-supported electrocatalyst, which is composed of two-dimensional N-doped carbon-wrapped Ir-doped Ni nanoparticle composites supported on Ni foam (NiIr@N-C/NF). The resultant NiIr@N-C/NF displays excellent electrocatalytic performance in 1.0 m KOH, with low overpotentials of 32 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² for the HER and 329 mV at 50 mA cm⁻² for the OER. Particularly, the HER-OER bifunctional NiIr@N-C/NF needs only 1.50 V to yield 10 mA cm⁻² for overall water splitting.     

Controlled Synthesis of Ni-Doped MoS2 Hybrid Electrode for Synergistically Enhanced Water-Splitting Process

The development of high-efficiency, low-cost, and earth-abundant electrocatalysts for overall water splitting remains a challenge. In this work, Ni-modified MoS₂ hybrid catalysts are grown on carbon cloth (Ni-Mo-S@CC) through a one-step hydrothermal treatment. The optimized Ni-Mo-S@CC catalyst shows excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with a low overpotential of 168 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 m KOH, which is lower than those of Ni-Mo-S@CC (1:1), Ni-Mo-S@CC (3:1), and pure MoS₂. Significantly, the Ni-Mo-S@CC hybrid catalyst also displays outstanding oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity with a low overpotential of 320 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², and remarkable long-term stability for 30 h at a constant current density of 10 mA cm⁻². Experimental results and theoretical analysis based on density functional theory demonstrate that the excellent electrocatalytic performance can be attributed mainly to the remarkable conductivity, abundant active sites, and synergistic effect of the Ni-doped MoS₂. This work sheds light on a unique strategy for the design of high-performance and stable electrocatalysts for water-splitting electrolyzers.     

Cooperative Ni(Co)-Ru-P Sites Activate Dehydrogenation for Hydrazine Oxidation Assisting Self-powered H2 Production

Water electrolysis for H₂ production is restricted by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Using the thermodynamically more favorable hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) to replace OER has attracted ever-growing attention. Herein, we report a twisted NiCoP nanowire array immobilized with Ru single atoms (Ru₁−NiCoP) as superior bifunctional electrocatalyst toward both HzOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), realizing an ultralow working potential of −60 mV and overpotential of 32 mV for a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², respectively. Inspiringly, two-electrode electrolyzer based on overall hydrazine splitting (OHzS) demonstrates outstanding activity with a record-high current density of 522 mA cm⁻² at cell voltage of 0.3 V. DFT calculations elucidate the cooperative Ni(Co)−Ru−P sites in Ru₁−NiCoP optimize H* adsorption, and enhance adsorption of *N₂H₂ to significantly lower the energy barrier for hydrazine dehydrogenation. Moreover, a self-powered H₂ production system utilizing OHzS device driven by direct hydrazine fuel cell (DHzFC) achieve a satisfactory rate of 24.0 mol h⁻¹ m⁻².     

Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production by an Aluminum(III) Complex: Ligand‐Based Proton and Electron Transfer

Environmentally sustainable hydrogen‐evolving electrocatalysts are key in a renewable fuel economy, and ligand‐based proton and electron transfer could circumvent the need for precious metal ions in electrocatalytic H₂ production. Herein, we show that electrocatalytic generation of H₂ by a redox‐active ligand complex of Al³⁺ occurs at ?1.16 V vs. SCE (500 mV overpotential).     

The preparation of ionic liquid based iron phosphate/CNTs composite via microwave radiation for hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction

Water electrolysis is a promising method for hydrogen production, so the preparation of low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts with a quick and simple procedure is crucial. Herein, iron phosphate (Fe₇(PO₄)₆) was prepared via microwave radiation using ionic liquid (IL) as iron and phosphorus dual-source. This method is simple and rapid, and the product can be directly used as electrocatalysts without further treatment. The experimental results show that the IL can influence the morphology and electrocatalytic performance. Moreover, the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is favorable for formation of iron phosphate nanoparticles to improve the catalytic activities. As hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst, this iron phosphate/CNTs exhibits an onset overpotential of 120 mV, Tafel slope of 32.9 mV dec^-1, and current densities of 10 mA cm⁻² at overpotential of 185 mV. Then, it obtains a good activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a low onset potential of 1.48 V, Tafel slope of 73.3 mV dec^-1, and it only needs an overpotential of 300 mV to drive the 10 mA cm⁻². This bifunctional catalyst also shows good durability for HER and OER. This microwave-assisted method provides an outstanding strategy to prepare iron phosphate in a simple and fast process with good catalytic performance for water splitting.     

High-Efficiency Oxygen Reduction to Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Nickel Single-Atom Catalysts with Tetradentate N2O2 Coordination in a Three-Phase Flow Cell

Carbon-supported Ni^II single-atom catalysts with a tetradentate Ni-N₂O₂ coordination formed by a Schiff base ligand-mediated pyrolysis strategy are presented. A Ni^II complex of the Schiff base ligand (R,R)-(−)-N,N′-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine was adsorbed onto a carbon black support, followed by pyrolysis of the modified carbon material at 300 °C in Ar. The Ni-N₂O₂/C catalyst showed excellent performance for the electrocatalytic reduction of O₂ to H₂O₂ through a two-electron transfer process in alkaline conditions, with a H₂O₂ selectivity of 96 %. At a current density of 70 mA cm⁻², a H₂O₂ production rate of 5.9 mol g_cat.⁻¹ h⁻¹ was achieved using a three-phase flow cell, with good catalyst stability maintained over 8 h of testing. The Ni-N₂O₂/C catalyst could electrocatalytically reduce O₂ in air to H₂O₂ at a high current density, still affording a high H₂O₂ selectivity (>90 %). A precise Ni-N₂O₂ coordination was key to the performance.     

Atomically Dispersed Iron Regulating Electronic Structure of Iron Atom Clusters for Electrocatalytic H2O2 Production and Biomass Upgrading

The integration of highly active single atoms (SAs) and atom clusters (ACs) into an electrocatalyst is critically important for high-efficiency two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e⁻ ORR) to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Here we report a tandem impregnation-pyrolysis-etching strategy to fabricate the oxygen-coordinated Fe SAs and ACs anchored on bacterial cellulose-derived carbon (BCC) (FeSAs/ACs-BCC). As the electrocatalyst, FeSAs/ACs-BCC exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and selectivity toward 2e⁻ ORR, affording an onset potential of 0.78 V (vs. RHE) and a high H₂O₂ selectivity of 96.5 % in 0.1 M KOH. In a flow cell reactor, the FeSAs/ACs-BCC also achieves high-efficiency H₂O₂ production with a yield rate of 12.51±0.18 mol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ and a faradaic efficiency of 89.4 %±1.3 % at 150 mA cm⁻². Additionally, the feasibility of coupling the produced H₂O₂ and electro-Fenton process for the valorization of ethylene glycol was explored in detail. The theoretical calculations uncover that the oxygen-coordinated Fe SAs effectively regulate the electronic structure of Fe ACs which are the 2e⁻ ORR active sites, resulting in the optimal binding strength of *OOH intermediate for high-efficiency H₂O₂ production.     

A General Route to Prepare Low-Ruthenium-Content Bimetallic Electrocatalysts for pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction by Using Carbon Quantum Dots

A challenging but pressing task to design and synthesize novel, efficient, and robust pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts for scalable and sustainable hydrogen production through electrochemical water splitting. Herein, we report a facile method to prepare an efficient and robust Ru-M (M=Ni, Mn, Cu) bimetal nanoparticle and carbon quantum dot hybrid (RuM/CQDs) for pH-universal HER. The RuNi/CQDs catalysts exhibit outstanding HER performance at all pH levels. The unexpected low overpotentials of 13, 58, and 18 mV shown by RuNi/CQDs allow a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² in 1 m KOH, 0.5 m H₂SO₄, and 1 m PBS, respectively, for Ru loading at 5.93 μgRu cm⁻². This performance is among the best catalytic activities reported for any platinum-free electrocatalyst. Theoretical studies reveal that Ni doping results in a moderate weakening of the hydrogen bonding energy of nearby surface Ru atoms, which plays a critical role in improving the HER activity.