An earth-abundant bimetallic catalyst coated metallic nanowire grown electrode with platinum-like pH-universal hydrogen evolution activity at high current density

A self-supported and flexible current collector solely made of earth-abundant elements, NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) wrapped around Cu nanowires (Cu-Ws) grown on top of commercially available Cu mesh (Cu-m), outperforms the benchmark 40 wt% Pt/C in catalyzing the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The Cu-m/Cu-W/NiCo-LDH cathode operates both in acidic and alkaline media exhibiting high turnover frequencies (TOF) at 30 mV (0.3 H₂ s⁻¹ in 1 M KOH and 0.32 H₂ s⁻¹ in 0.5 M H₂SO₄, respectively) and minimal overpotentials of 15 ± 6 mV in 1 M KOH and 27 ± 2 mV in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ at −10 mA cm⁻². Cu-m/Cu-W/NiCo-LDH outperforms the activity of 40 wt% Pt/C that needs overpotentials of 22 and 18 mV in 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H₂SO₄, respectively. With a tremendous advantage over Pt/C in triggering proton reduction with fast kinetics, similar mass activity and pH-universality, the current collector demonstrates outstanding operational durability even at above −1 A cm⁻². The high density of electronic states near the Fermi energy level of Cu-Ws is found to be a pivotal factor for efficient electron transfer to the NiCo-LDH catalyst. This class of self-supported electrodes is expected to trigger rapid progress in developing high performance energy conversion and storage devices.

A flexible self-supported electrode made of earth-abundant elements, NiCo layered double hydroxide wrapped around Cu nanowires grown on Cu mesh, outperforms the benchmark 40 wt% Pt/C in catalyzing electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction.     

1D/2D TiO2/ZnIn2S4S型异质结光催化剂及其高效制氢性能

通过半导体催化剂利用太阳能分解水制氢被认为是解决人类面临的环境问题和能源危机的有效途径.在众多的半导体光催化剂中,TiO₂由于其良好的光化学稳定性、无毒性、丰富的形貌以及低廉的价格,在光催化制氢领域备受关注.然而TiO₂的内在缺陷,如较宽的带隙、较窄的光响应范围,光生电子空穴对的快速复合,极大限制了其太阳能制氢效率.构建异质结结构被认为是解决以上问题的一个有效方法,通过将TiO₂与另一个半导体复合可以提升催化剂对太阳光的吸收范围,也可降低光生电子空穴对的复合速率.但构建一个成功的异质结结构不仅要满足上述的要求,还需要保留异质结催化剂体系中光生电子和空穴的氧化还原能力.研究表明,S型异质结是将两个具有合适能带结构的半导体进行耦合,由于费米能级的差异,两个半导体间将发生电子转移,从而引起能带弯曲并形成内建电场.光照条件下,具有较弱还原能力的光生电子在内建电场和能带弯曲的作用下与较弱氧化能力的光生空穴复合,实现异质结催化剂体系中各个半导体内部光生载流子有效分离的目标,同时保留了异质结催化剂体系中较强氧化能力和较强还原能力的光生电子和空穴,进而实现光催化活性的提高.本文采用水热合成方法,将具有更强还原能力和可见光响应特性的半导体(ZnIn₂S₄)原位生长在TiO₂纳米纤维表面,构建了1D/2DTiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄S型异质结光催化剂.最优比例的TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄复合材料表现出优越的光催化制氢活性(6.03mmol/h/g),分别是纯TiO₂和纯ZnIn₂S₄制氢活性的3.7倍和2倍.TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄复合材料光催化活性的提高可以归因于紧密的异质结界面、光生载流子的有效分离、丰富的反应活性位点以及增强的光吸收能力.通过原位XPS和DFT计算研究了异质结内部光生电子的转移机制.结果表明,在光照条件下电子由TiO₂向ZnIn₂S₄迁移,遵循了S型异质结内部电子的转移机制,实现了TiO₂和ZnIn₂S₄内部光生载流子的有效分离,同时保留了具有较强还原能力的ZnIn₂S₄价带电子和较强氧化能力的TiO₂导带空穴,从而显著提升光催化制氢效率.综上,本文制备的TiO₂/ZnIn₂S₄S型异质结光催化剂很好地克服了TiO₂在光催化制氢领域所面临的诸多障碍,为设计和制备高效异质结光催化剂提供了新的思路.     

珊瑚状Ni2P修饰新型四足状Cd0.9Zn0.1SZB/WZ同质结光催化剂的高效可见光光催化产氢

随着社会发展,传统化石能源消耗加剧,人类迫切需要开发新型的清洁能源.半导体光催化分解水产氢是一种非常具有潜力解决能源危机的清洁技术.目前,金属硫化物半导体有着合适的能带结构和高效的光催化产氢能力而得到了广泛的研究.通常,为了提高光催化剂产氢性能,添加贵金属助催化剂是一个行之有效的方法.但是贵金属昂贵的价格限制了其大规模...     

Controlled synthesis of monodispersed AgGaS2 3D nanoflowers and the shape evolution from nanoflowers to colloids

Monodispersed AgGaS₂ three-dimensional (3D) nanoflowers have been successfully synthesized in a “soft-chemical” system with the mixture of 1-octyl alcohol and cyclohexane as reaction medium and oleylamine as surfactant. The crystal phase, morphology and chemical composition of the as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM (HTEM), respectively. Results reveal that the as-synthesized AgGaS₂ nanoflowers are in tetragonal structure with 3D flower-like shape. Controlled experiments demonstrated that the shape transformation of AgGaS₂ nanocrystals from 3D nanoflowers (50 nm) to nanoparticles (10-20 nm) could be readily realized by tuning the reaction parameters, e.g., the ratio of octanol to cyclohexane, the length of carbon chain of fatty alcohol, the concentration of oleylamine, etc. The UV-vis and PL spectra of the obtained AgGaS₂ nanoflowers and colloids were researched. In addition, the photoelectron energy conversion (SPV) of AgGaS₂ nanoflowers was further researched by the surface photovoltage spectra.     

CoP/Co_2P/C纳米材料用于全pH值电催化析氢

在氮气下一步退火含有植酸和钴的前驱体,合成了一种新型的CoP/Co2P/C复合纳米材料作为电催化剂,该催化剂在全pH值范围下表现出优异的电催化析氢活性和稳定性.在0.5mol/L的硫酸中,电流密度为10mA/cm~2时,过电位为135mV.在1mol/L KOH溶液中,CoP/Co_2P/C催化剂需要141 mV的过电位才能使电流密度达到10 mA/cm~2,在0.1mol/L磷酸盐缓冲溶液中,需要155mV的过电位才能使电流密度达到10mA/cm~2.这种优异的析氢活性主要归因于CoP/Co_2P纳米粒子和C层之间的协同作用.     

高效稳定的Al~(3+)偶联多层Eosin Y敏化TiO_2光催化制氢体系研究

通过Al3+偶联制备了多层EosinY敏化的TiO2催化剂,其光催化制氢性能优于Fe3+偶联的催化剂.在水体系、甲醇-水体系中,以三乙醇胺(TEOA)作电子给体,采用原位载Pt,考察了催化剂在可见光(λ420nm)下的制氢活性与稳定性.结果表明,含水0.5%(体积分数)的体系、载铂量为1.0%时,显示了较高的活性和良好的稳定性,20h的平均量子效率为20.5%,转换数为220.较高的活性和稳定性初步归结于Al3+水解趋势较Fe3+小,且催化剂在甲醇中比在水中更稳定,进一步的研究正在进行中.     

Novel ternary metals-based telluride electrocatalyst with synergistic effects of high valence non-3d metal and oxophilic Te for pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrocatalyst designs based on oxophilic foreign atoms are considered a promising approach for developing efficient pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) electrocatalysts by overcoming the sluggish alkaline HER kinetics. Here, we design ternary transition metals-based nickel telluride(Mo WNi Te)catalysts consisting of high valence non-3d Mo and W metals and oxophilic Te as a first demonstration of non-precious heterogeneous electrocatalysts following the bifunctional mechanism. The Mo ...     

Engineering of SnO2/TiO2 heterojunction compact interface with efficient charge transfer pathway for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Fabricating an efficient charge transfer pathway at the compact interface between two kinds of semiconductors is an important strategy for designing hydrogen production heterojunction photocatalysts. In this work, we prepared a compact, stable and oxygen vacancy-rich photocatalyst (SnO₂/TiO₂ heterostructure) via a simple and reasonable in-situ synthesis method. Briefly, SnCl₂–2H₂O is hydrolyzed on the TiO₂ precursor. After the pyrolysis process, SnO₂ nanoparticles (5 nm) were dispersed on the surface of ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets uniformly. Herein, the heterojunction system can offer abundant oxygen vacancies, which can act as active sites for catalytic reactions. Meanwhile, the interfacial contact of SnO₂/TiO₂ grading semiconductor oxide is uniform and tight, which can promote the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. As shown in the experimental results, the hydrogen production rate of SnO₂/TiO₂ is 16.7 mmol h^?1 g^?1 (4.4 times higher than that of TiO₂), which is owing to its good dynamical properties. This work demonstrates an efficient strategy of tight combining SnO₂/TiO₂ with abundant oxygen vacancies to improve catalytic efficiency.     

Rational design of ternary NiS/CQDs/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites as efficient noble-metal-free photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light

The NiS/CQDs nanocomposite (CQDs represents carbon quantum dots), with a mass ratio of NiS/CQDs to be 1.19:1 based on the ICP result, was obtained via a facile hydrothermal method from a mixture of CQDs, Ni(OAc)₂ and Na₂S. The self-assembly of ZnIn₂S₄ microspheres on the surface of NiS/CQDs was realized under microwave conditions to obtain a ternary NiS/CQDs/ZnIn₂S₄ nanocomposite. The as-obtained NiS/CQDs/ZnIn₂S₄ nanocomposite was fully characterized, and its photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation was investigated. The ternary NiS/CQDs/ZnIn₂S₄ nanocomposite showed superior photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution than ternary CQDs/NiS/ZnIn₂S₄, which was obtained by deposition of NiS in the preformed CQDs/ZnIn₂S₄. The superior photocatalytic performance of ternary NiS/CQDs/ZnIn₂S₄ is ascribed to the introduction of CQDs, which act as a bridge to promote the vectorial transfer of photo-generated electrons from ZnIn₂S₄ to NiS. This result suggests that the rational design and fabrication of ternary CQDs-based systems are important for the efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. This study provides a strategy for developing highly efficient noble-metal-free photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution using CQDs as a bridge to promote the charge transfer in the nanocomposite.     

Tailoring synergetic catalytic interface of VPO/Ni2P to boost hydrogen evolution under alkaline conditions

Design of the catalyst for efficient water dissociation and hydrogen recombination is paramount in enhancement of the alkaline water electrolysis kinetics.Herein,we reported a delicate hierarchical(VO)₂ P₂O₇-Ni₂ P@NF(VPO-Ni₂ P@NF)hybrid catalyst that operated efficiently in alkaline media.The VPO and Ni₂ P respectively act as the water dissociation promoter and the hydrogen recombination center,which synergistically propel water adsorption/dissociation and H intermediates recombination.The resulting synergistic interfaces between VPO and Ni₂ P are verified to afford the catalyst an outstanding performance for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media with an overpotential of 154 mV at 10 mA cm^-2,Tafel slope of 65 mV dec^-1,and remarkable durability.Furthermore,the catalyst presents the potential for overall water splitting.This work may shed fresh light on the high-performance electrocatalyst design and the application of VPO on water electrolysis.     

Cu-clusters nodes of 2D metal-organic frameworks as a cost-effective noble-metal-free cocatalyst with high atom-utilization efficiency for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Several 2D nanosheets of porphyrin MOFs with various transition-metal clusters as metal nodes were prepared via a simple solvothermal method to apply in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution,in which the hydrogen production rate of the optimal NS-Cu was as high as 15.39 mmol g^-1h^-1.A series of experimental technologies especially cyclic voltammetry （CV） and Mott-Schottky （M-S） had been adopted to investigate the charge-transfer property of photo-generated electron-hole pair...     

Ni3S2@NiFePx electrode with dual-anion-modulated layer for efficient and stable oxygen evolution

The rational construction of high-performance and stable electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a prerequisite for efficient water electrolysis. Herein, we develop a broccoli-like Ni₃S₂@NiFeP_x (Ni₃S₂@NFP) catalyst on nickel foam (NF) via a sequential two-step layer-by-layer assembly electrodeposition method. X-ray diffraction, in situ Raman and Fourier-transform infrared spectra have mutually validated the element segregation and phase refusion during OER condition. The reconstruction of double layer Ni₃S₂@NFP facilitates the formation of the active (oxy)hydroxides, which is modulated by the dual anionic layer with mixed sulfate and phosphate ions. As a result, the obtained Ni₃S₂@NFP electrode exhibits low overpotential (329 mV) and long-term durability (∼500 h) for OER at current density of 500 mA/cm². Moreover, the self-supported Ni₃S₂@NFP can act as an efficient and durable anode in alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis device (AEMWE). This work provides a facile and scaled-up strategy to construct self-supported electrocatalyst and emphasizes the crucial role of anions in pre-catalyst reconstruction and enhancing OER performance.     

High-precision regulation synthesis of Fe-doped Co_2P nanorod bundles as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution in all-pH range and seawater

The hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)via water electrolysis has gained immense research attention.Seawater electrolysis provides great opportunities for sustainable energy production,but is extremely challenging.Transition metal phosphides are promising candidate electrocatalysts.Herein,we prepared a novel Fe-Co₂P bundle of nanorods(BNRs)for catalyzing the HER in seawater electrolysis and over the entire p H range.Cobalt phosphides with different crystal phases and morphologies were obtained by varying the Fe doping amount.The Co:Fe molar ratio of 1:0.5 was found to be optimum.The Fe doping improved the HER performance of Co₂P over the entire p H range by providing favorable electronic properties and morphology,lattice distortion,and special coordination environment.The Fe-Co₂P BNRs showed higher catalytic activity than 20%Pt/C in seawater at high potentials.The density functional theory calculations revealed that the Fe doping reduced the hydrogen binding strength of Co₂P to efficiently accelerate the HER kinetics and produce a favorable charge density.This study provides valuable insights into the design and development of high-efficiency HER catalysts for large-scale seawater electrolysis.     

Self-supported FexNi1-xMoO4 with synergistic morphology and composition for efficient overall water splitting at large current density

Developing the high activity, low cost and robust large-current-density-based electrocatalysts is of great significance for the industrial electrolytic water splitting. However, the current range of most reported materials is small, which makes it difficult for them to play their roles in practical applications. Here, a self-supported amorphous Fe_xNi_1-xMoO₄/IF treated with ammonium fluoride (AF_0.1-FNMO/IF) is synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. With the help of NH₄F, AF_0.1-FNMO/IF exhibits a vertically cross-linked nanosheet with spherical structure. Electrochemical measurement shows that AF_0.1-FNMO/IF affords a large current density ordeal and only need low overpotentials of 289 and 345 mV to reach a current response of 500 mA/cm² for oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction, respectively, together with long-time stability (both at 500, 1000 and 2000 mA/cm²) in 1.0 mol/L KOH solution. Using it as bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting, the current densities of 100, 500, 1000 and 1500 mA/cm² are achieved at a cell voltage of 1.71, 1.88, 1.94 and 1.97 V with excellent durability, which is much better than that of most published electrodes. The work provides valuable insight for designing higher activity nickel iron-based molybdate catalysts with large current density.     

From titanium oxydifluoride (TiOF2) to titania (TiO2): phase transition and non-metal doping with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution properties

Single-crystalline TiOF(2) crystals with cubical morphology were prepared via a facile solvothermal method and their transformation to anatase TiO(2) under different calcination conditions such as pure argon, moist argon and pure hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) was explored by using XRD/Raman/UV-Vis/SEM/TEM/SAED. The non-metal sulfur doping was successfully fulfilled and the doped TiO(2) microcubes showed the best photocatalytic H(2) evolution property.     

Bioelectrocatalytic formate oxidation and carbon dioxide reduction at high current density and low overpotential with tungsten-containing formate dehydrogenase and mediators

We show a great possibility of mediated enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis in the formate oxidation and the carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction at high current densities and low overpotentials. Tungsten-containing formate dehydrogenase (FoDH1) from Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 was used as a catalyst and immobilized on a Ketjen Black-modified electrode. For the formate oxidation, a high limiting current density (j_lim) of ca. 24 mA cm^− 2 was realized with a half wave potential (E_1/2) of only 0.12 V more positive than the formal potential of the formate/CO₂ couple (E°′_CO2) at 30 °C in the presence of methyl viologen (MV^2 +) as a mediator, and j_lim reached ca. 145 mA cm^− 2 at 60 °C. Even when a viologen-functionalized polymer was co-immobilized with FoDH1 on the porous electrode, j_lim of ca. 30 mA cm^− 2 was attained at 60 °C with E_1/2 = E°′_CO2 + 0.13 V. On the other hand, the CO₂ reduction was also realized with j_lim ≈ 15 mA cm^− 2 and E_1/2 = E°′_CO2 − 0.04 V at pH 6.6 and 60 °C in the presence of MV^2 +.     

A density functional theory study of hydrogen dissociation and diffusion at the perimeter sites of Au/TiO2

Reactivity of supported gold catalysts is a hot topic in catalysis for many years. This communication reports an investigation on the dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the perimeter sites of Au/TiO(2) and the spillover of hydrogen atoms from the gold to the support using density functional theory calculations. It is found that the heterolytic dissociation is favoured in comparison with homolytic dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the perimeter sites. However, the surface oxygen of the rutile TiO(2)(110) surface at these sites can be readily passivated by the formed OH, suggesting that further dissociation of molecular hydrogen may occur at pure gold sites.     

Two-dimensional Pt2P3 monolayer: A promising bifunctional electrocatalyst with different active sites for hydrogen evolution and CO2 reduction

Green hydrogen production and CO₂ fixation have been identified as the fundamental techniques for sustainable economy. The open challenge is to develop high performance catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and CO₂ electroreduction (CO₂ER) to valuable chemicals. Under such context, this work reported computational efforts to design promising electrocatalyst for HER and CO₂ER based on the swarm-intelligence algorithm. Among the family of transition-metal phosphides (TMPs), Pt₂P₃ monolayer has been identified as excellent bifunctional catalysts due to high stability, excellent conductivity and superior catalytic performance. Different from typical d-block catalysts, p-band center presented by P atoms within Pt₂P₃ monolayer plays the essential role for its reactivity towards HER and CO₂ER, underlining the key value of p-electrons in advanced catalyst design and thus providing a promising strategy to further develop novel catalysts made of p-block elements for various energy applications.     

Optimizing electronic structure and charge transport of sulfur/potassium co‐doped graphitic carbon nitride with efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance

Recently, graphitic carbon nitride (CN) has been widely investigated for solar energy conversion through water splitting, but its low photocatalytic activity needs to be further improved and optimized. Herein, S/K co‐doped CN photocatalysts have been fabricated by condensation of thiourea and dithiooxamide followed by post‐treatment in molten salt. As evidenced by XRD patterns and UV–vis DRS plots, the engineering crystalline and electronic structure of all as‐prepared samples have been explored through tailoring the mass ratio of thiourea and dithiooxamide as well as ratio of molten salt/the precursor. After optimization, the as‐prepared S/K co‐doped CN photocatalysts with needle‐like nanorods structure exhibit excellent hydrogen evolution rate of 1962.10 μmol^?1 g^?1 h^?1. While its photocatalytic activity is lower than that of pure CN by molten salt treatment (K‐doped CN) (2066.40 μmol^?1 g^?1 h^?1), which results from that the K content of S/K co‐doped CN photocatalyst is lower than that of K‐doped CN. Moreover, compared with K‐doped CN, S/K co‐doped CN photocatalyst possesses higher photocatalytic performance when irradiated by a light source (λ > 520 nm). This might be ascribed to the fact that the introduction of sulfur can expand light absorption region (λ > 520 nm), whereas K cannot improve light absorption of CN in this wavelength region. Furthermore, DFT calculation reveals that both S and K atoms can offer more electrons to band gap, leading to the formation of metallic‐character band structure. In addition, K atom can intercalate in the interlayer of CN and bridge the adjacent two layers, leading to the formation of charge delivery channels. These results demonstrate that S/K co‐doped CN photocatalysts facilitate the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carries, resulting in the efficient photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. Besides, a competition between sulfur and potassium atom during the synthesis process is also discussed in details.