非晶纳米材料用于电解水的研究进展

电催化水分解产氢作为一种有前途的制氢技术被全世界研究者广泛关注.然而,此领域仍然缺少一种高效、无污染的催化剂,以降低能耗,提升反应动力学,进而推进电解水的实际应用.近年来研究发现,具有短程有序、长程无序特征的非晶纳米材料在电解水领域表现出极其优异的性能.有趣的是,固有的无序结构赋予了非晶纳米材料丰富的高活性位点.鉴于此,本文综述了非晶纳米材料的制备策略以及表征方法,并且对其高活性来源进行了系统地分析.此外,本文通过分析近几十年的研究成果指出了非晶纳米材料在电解水领域面临的挑战和应用前景.非晶纳米材料的合成方法主要分为两类:直接合成和间接合成.直接合成主要包括:电沉积、光化学金属-有机沉积、气溶胶-喷雾辅助法、反胶束溶胶-凝胶法、水热法、共沉淀法和氧化还原法.其中,气溶胶-喷雾辅助技术可以通过控制母液中金属离子的浓度精准地控制非晶纳米材料中各种金属元素的组成,从而有目的地调控并优化催化活性.间接合成主要分为原位转化和非原位转化.原位转化是指晶体材料在反应过程中表面会原位转化为非晶结构作为反应的真实活性物质.非原位转化是指当纳米材料尺度非常小时,高表面能将会破坏材料的结晶度得到非晶材料.另外,非晶材料长程无序的特点给其表征带来极大挑战.目前,对于非晶材料表征的一般流程是:首先通过X射线粉末衍射确定非晶结构,并通过透射电子显微镜以及扫描电子显微镜探索其形貌结构;再通过选区电子衍射以及高角度环形暗场扫描透射电子显微镜进一步确定非晶结构;然后,通过能谱、电感耦合等离子体发射光谱和X射线光电子能谱分析其化学组成及化学态;最后,采用拉曼光谱和同步辐射数据提供晶体结构信息.本文对非晶纳米材料高活性的起源进行了探究.在电解水领域,非晶纳米材料通常表现出优于晶体材料的性能.优异的活性与活性位点数量的增多以及活性位点活性的提升有关:(1)非晶纳米材料具有长程无序的特征,可以暴露更多活性位点,并且其表面存在的大量悬挂键也可以作为活性位点;(2)非晶纳米材料的活性位点可以拓展至催化剂体相内部,大幅提升了活性位点数量;(3)非晶纳米材料结构灵活性高,活性位点在催化反应过程中可以转变成任意形状,提升了活性位点的活性;(4)非晶纳米材料的高韧性和应变能力赋予其较高的稳定性.非晶纳米材料已广泛应用于电解水领域,但仍然存在一些问题:(1)非晶纳米材料由于原子级结构不确定,其电催化机理很难探究;(2)理论模拟作为研究电化学反应途径的有力工具很难应用于非晶纳米材料的研究;(3)随着无序程度的增加,活性位点数量和活性逐渐增加,但电导率逐渐下降.尽管如此,由于非晶纳米材料结构灵活性高和自重组能力快速,人们对其在电解水领域的研究兴趣越来越大,并且该领域显示出良好的应用前景,高效非晶纳米材料的设计合成及其催化机理的研究将成为今后研究的重点.     

Transition metal chalcogenides as emerging electrocatalysts for urea electrolysis

Urea electrolysis is an up-and-coming approach to realize sustainable energy-saving hydrogen fuel production and purification of urea-bearing wastes (e.g. urine, industrial wastewater). To attain a high urea electrolysis efficiency, high-performance electrocatalysts are highly required. Of late, transition metal (TM) chalcogenides-based materials are emerging as promising candidates for urea electrolysis. The catalytic performance of TM chalcogenides-based catalysts is optimized by tuning the internal/external characteristics, including nanostructure control, composition optimization, and heterostructuring. In this review, recent achievements in high-efficiency electrocatalysts based on TM chalcogenides for urea electrolysis are critically discussed. First, the electrochemistry of urea electrolysis is analyzed. Next, recent progress in TM chalcogenides-based electrocatalysts for urea electrolysis is detailed. The electrocatalyst design strategies are particularly elucidated, as well as the catalyst structure–performance correlation. Ultimately, perspectives on crucial scientific issues in this booming field are highlighted.     

碱性电解水高效制氢

与传统化石能源制氢技术相比,利用可再生能源驱动电解水制氢技术具有绿色可持续和制氢效率高等优势,被认为是目前最具前景的制氢方式。然而, 由于电解水两极反应动力学缓慢、 催化剂稳定性较差, 限制了其大规模发展。此外, 阳极析氧反应存在较高的过电势, 从而导致当前制氢能耗与成本较高, 严重制约了其商业化应用。 为了解决上述问题与挑战,本文对当前发展较为成熟的碱性电解水技术进行了综合讨论与分析。 首先, 对电解水发展历程中的重要节点进行了总结, 便于读者了解该领域。进一步, 从电催化剂、 电极、 反应和系统的角度深入总结了提升电解水制氢性能的有效策略。作者分别介绍了近年来层状双金属氢氧化物基电解水催化剂、电解水制氢耦合氧化反应以及可再生能源驱动的电解水系统的重要研究进展; 同时对结构化催化剂在电解水应用中的构效关系进行了深入分析。最后, 对该领域存在的挑战和未来发展方向进行了展望,希望能为氢能的发展和推广提供一定的思路。     

Advances,opportunities, and challenges of hydrogen and oxygen production from seawater electrolysis: An electrocatalysis perspective

With increasing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of developing renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels has become a vital global task. Hydrogen produced via water electrolysis powered by renewable energy systems at a large scale is an essential measure to reduce greenhouse gas and particulate emissions. Electrolysers use a substantial amount of water (mainly freshwater) to produce hydrogen and oxygen at the cathode, and anode, respectively. However, seawater is preferred because it is the most abundant water resource. Although many R&D efforts on seawater electrolysis have been carried out since the 1970s, the barriers are the undesired chlorine gas evolution reaction at the anode, and corrosion induced by chloride ions. Unlike the available data for electrocatalyst materials based upon platinum group metals in pure solutions, limited data is available for electrocatalysts in seawater. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new electrocatalysts for seawater electrolysis.     

低温燃料电池担载型贵金属催化剂

本文对近年来低温燃料电池用担载型金属纳米催化剂的合成及其电化学性能作了回顾;综述了不同的贵金属及其合金(如Pt, Pt-Ru等)制备方法以及新型碳纳米材料作为催化剂载体的研究进展;对该领域今后的发展作了展望。     

电化学合成纳米材料和小分子材料在电解制氢领域的应用

氢气是一种清洁、高效、可再生的新型能源,并且是未来碳中和能源供应中最具潜力的化石燃料替代品。因此,可持续氢能源制造具有极大的吸引力与迫切的需求,尤其是通过清洁、环保、零排放的电解水方法。然而,目前的电解水反应受到其缓慢的动力学以及低成本/能源效率的制约。在这些方面,电化学合成通过制造先进的电催化剂和提供更高效/增值的共电解替代品,为提高水电解的效率和效益提供了广阔的前景。它是一种环保、简单的通过电解或其他电化学操作,对从分子到纳米尺度的材料进行制造的方法。本文首先介绍了电化学合成的基本概念、设计方法以及常用方法。然后,总结了电化学合成技术在电解水领域的应用及进展。我们专注于电化学合成的纳米结构电催化剂以实现更高效的电解水制氢,以及小分子的电化学氧化以取代电解水制氢中的析氧共反应,实现更高效、 增值的共电解制氢。我们系统地讨论了电化学合成条件与产物的关系,以启发未来的探索。最后,本文讨论了电化学合成在先进电解水以及其他能量转换和储存应用方面的挑战和前景。     

Interfacial coupling of sea urchin-like (Mo4O11-MoS2-VO2) promoted electron redistributions for significantly boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance in contemporary water electrolysis technology. Here, a novel hierarchically sea urchin-like electrocatalyst (Mo₄O₁₁-MoS₂-VO₂) is synthesized by hydrothermal deposition and post-annealing strategy. The optimized electrocatalyst behaves as a high active hydrogen evolution electrode in 0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄. This electrode needs overpotential of only 43 mV to achieve 10 mA/cm² with a Tafel slope of 37 mV/dec and maintains its catalytic activity for at least 36 h. Better than most previously reported non-noble metal electrocatalysts anchored on carbon cloth. It is worth mentioning that the hierarchical sea urchin-like structure promotes the redistribution of electrons and provides more catalytic active sites. This strategy shows a way for the construction of inexpensive non-noble metal electrocatalysts in the future.     

Ir Nanoparticles Anchored on Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Overall Water Splitting under pH-Universal Conditions

The construction of high-activity and low-cost electrocatalysts is critical for efficient hydrogen production by water electrolysis. Herein, we developed an advanced electrocatalyst by anchoring well-dispersed Ir nanoparticles on nickel metal-organic framework (MOF) Ni-NDC (NDC: 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic) nanosheets. Benefiting from the strong synergy between Ir and MOF through interfacial Ni−O−Ir bonds, the synthesized Ir@Ni-NDC showed exceptional electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and overall water splitting in a wide pH range, superior to commercial benchmarks and most reported electrocatalysts. Theoretical calculations revealed that the charge redistribution of Ni−O−Ir bridge induced the optimization of H₂O, OH* and H* adsorption, thus leading to the accelerated electrochemical kinetics for HER and OER. This work provides a new clue to exploit bifunctional electrocatalysts for pH-universal overall water splitting.     

Ordered cone-structured tin directly grown on carbon paper as efficient electrocatalyst for CO_2 electrochemical reduction to formate

The conversion of carbon dioxide to chemicals by the electrochemical reactions(ERC)is an efficient solution to the current energy crisis and excess CO₂ emissions.It is still a great challenge and of significance to synthesize a highly selective,efficient,and non-noble metal electrocatalyst that facilitates the ERC reaction.A novel triton X-100(C₁₄H₂₂O(C₂H₄O)n)assisted electrodeposition method was developed to synthesize the ordered cone-structured tin(OCSn)electrocatalysts with controllable morphology and structure.The results suggest that Triton X-100 plays an important role in directing the structure of the Sn electrocatalysts during the electrodeposition process.The OCSn synthesized at 60 m A cm^-2 achieves the best performances.It selectively catalyzes the ERC on the onset potential about 110 m V lower than Sn synthesized without Triton X-100.In 0.5 M Na HCO₃,high faradaic efficiency(92%)for formate product on OCSn has been achieved.More prominently,the catalyst presents excellent stability,showing no performance deterioration during 30 h electrolysis.This work provides an efficient,green,and scalable synthesis method of the electrocatalyst for CO₂ reduction to formate.     

单原子催化剂的合成及其能源电催化应用的研究进展

基于电化学反应的能源储存与转化技术为全球能源结构的转型提供了一条绿色、 可持续的途径, 高效的电催化剂在其中扮演着重要的角色. 得益于在物理、 化学性质上的独特优势, 单原子催化剂在电催化能源转化方面展现出巨大的应用前景. 本文综合评述了单原子催化剂的合成及其能源电催化应用的研究进展, 介绍了单原子催化剂的常见表征手段, 总结了单原子催化剂的合成方法(湿化学法、 高温热解法、 原子沉积法、 电化学沉积法等), 并介绍了该类材料在氧还原、 二氧化碳电还原、 电解水及氮气电还原反应中的研究进展, 重点探讨了催化剂微观结构与其性能之间的关系, 最后, 对单原子能源电催化领域所面临的挑战进行了总结, 并对该领域未来的发展方向进行了展望.     

红毛丹状磷化钴@钼钴氧空心微米小球用于碱性电催化析氢（英文）

氢气因其能量密度高、零排放和可再生的特点被广泛认为是最有前景的能源.电解水是一种产生高纯氢气的有效途径.目前,高性能的促进水电解的催化剂主要是贵金属材料,例如贵金属铂.然而,高成本大大阻碍了贵金属材料在电催化水分解中的广泛应用.因此,我们致力于研究具有高活性的非贵金属催化剂.因为电催化水分解析氢反应更容易发生在质子浓度高的条件下,所以研究碱性条件下催化析氢比研究酸性条件下催化析氢更具挑战性.在工业应用中,酸性电解质溶液对仪器设备的腐蚀性比碱性溶液更大,因此研究应用在碱性溶液中的析氢催化剂更有发展前景.过渡金属磷化物被广泛地研究作为高性能析氢电催化剂,然而过渡金属磷化物作为析氢催化剂的稳定性通常不是很好.我们通过钼元素的引入,提高过渡金属磷化物作为析氢催化剂的稳定性.电化学催化效率同样受到材料形貌和导电性的影响.大的比表面积有利于暴露更多的活性位点,使活性位点与电解质溶液的接触更加充分,有利于催化剂和溶液之间的传质.据报道,金属磷化物具有良好的导电性是由于磷化物中存在金属-金属键.所以合成具有大比表面积形貌的过渡金属磷化物材料能够满足析氢电催化剂对比表面积和导电性的两个需求.界面效应是调节催化剂性能的一个有效方法.析氢催化剂常常存在吸附质子能力过强或过弱、稳定性不好等问题.这些问题可以通过界面效应来解决.本文通过形成磷化估和钼钴氧的界面来调节改善磷化钴表面原来的电子密度,以达到理想的氢吸附自由能;同时此界面效应还能起到稳定催化剂性能的作用.本文首先采用水热法合成了红毛丹状钼钴氧空心微米小球前驱体.在钼酸根离子的引导下,利用奥斯特瓦尔德熟化原理一步实现了红毛丹状空心结构.前驱体再以次亚磷酸钠为磷源进行气相磷化,得到产物红毛丹状磷化钴@钼钴氧空心微米小球.通过扫描电镜和透射电镜对其红毛丹状空心结构进行了表征.利用X射线衍射和X射线光电子能谱等手段表征了材料的物相组成和价态分布.电化学测试均使用电化学工作站完成.该材料在碱性电解质溶液中展现了极好的电化学催化析氢性能,在电流密度为10 mA cm^-2时对应的析氢过电位仅为62 mV.在1 MKOH溶液中10 mA cm^-2电流密度下测试55 h,过电位仅增大约17 mV,显示了非常强的碱性析氢稳定性.得益于磷化钴和钼钴氧之间的界面效应,以及特殊的三维空心结构,红毛丹状磷化钴@钼钴氧空心微米小球表现出优异的析氢催化性能和稳定性.     

Ion-exchange-assisted synthesis of Pt-VC nanoparticles loaded on graphitized carbon: a high-performance nanocomposite electrocatalyst for oxygen-reduction reactions

Carbide-based electrocatalysts are superior to traditional carbon-based electrocatalysts, such as the commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts, in terms of their mass activity and stability. Herein, we report a general approach for the preparation of a nanocomposite electrocatalyst of platinum and vanadium carbide nanoparticles that are loaded onto graphitized carbon. The nanocomposite, which was prepared in a localized and controlled fashion by using an ion-exchange process, was an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR). Both the stability and the durability of the Pt-VC/GC nanocomposite catalyst could be enhanced compared with the state-of-the-art Pt/C. This approach can be extended to the synthesis of other metal-carbide-based nanocatalysts. Moreover, this straightforward synthesis of high-performance composite nanocatalysts can be scaled up to meet the requirements for mass production.     

Towards the application of 2D metal dichalcogenides as hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

The electrolysis of water using renewable power inputs has tremendous potential for storing renewable energy in the form of hydrogen fuel. Proton exchange membrane electrolyzers are amongst the more promising classes of electrolyzer for renewables-driven hydrogen production, but these devices require expensive and scarce precious metal electrocatalysts (such as platinum) that add considerably to device costs and lifecycle carbon footprints. Replacing platinum in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers with cheaper and more abundant alternatives will thus make renewables-to-hydrogen devices more viable. Two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides have the required stability, electronic and catalytic properties to challenge platinum's position as the electrocatalyst of choice in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers. In this minireview, we give an overview of recent progress in the development of two dimensional metal dichalcogenides as hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts, with a particular focus on studies from the last two years.     

Bridging electrocatalyst and cocatalyst studies for solar hydrogen production via water splitting

Solar-driven water-splitting has been considered as a promising technology for large-scale generation of sustainable energy for succeeding generations. Recent intensive efforts have led to the discovery of advanced multi-element-compound water-splitting electrocatalysts with very small overpotentials in anticipation of their application to solar cell-assisted water electrolysis. Although photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water-splitting systems are more attractive approaches for scaling up without much technical complexity and high investment costs, improving their efficiencies remains a huge challenge. Hybridizing photocatalysts or photoelectrodes with cocatalysts has been an effective scheme to enhance their overall solar energy conversion efficiencies. However, direct integration of highly-active electrocatalysts as cocatalysts introduces critical factors that require careful consideration. These additional requirements limit the design principle for cocatalysts compared with electrocatalysts, decelerating development of cocatalyst materials. This perspective first summarizes the recent advances in electrocatalyst materials and the effective strategies to assemble cocatalyst/photoactive semiconductor composites, and further discusses the core principles and tools that hold the key in designing advanced cocatalysts and generating a deeper understanding on how to further push the limits of water-splitting efficiency.

This perspective briefly reviews recently developed water splitting electrocatalyst materials and discusses their utilization as cocatalysts for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting systems.     

Cobalt phosphide nanoparticles supported within network of N-doped carbon nanotubes as a multifunctional and scalable electrocatalyst for water splitting

In order to realize industrial production of hydrogen through water splitting,it is essential to develop a cost-efficient and scalable approach to synthesize nonprecious electrocatalysts with sufficiently high activity and stability to replace commercial noble-metal-based electrocatalysts.Herein we synthesize cobalt phosphide nanoparticles dispersed within nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube network(CP@NCNT) via scalable spray drying and thermal treatments.As a multifunctional electrocatalyst,the CP@NCNT hybrid delivers outstanding activity for HER(in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes),OER and overall water splitting.Remarkably,it shows an ultra-low overpotental of 94 mV to obtain 10 mA cm-2 in HER.It also demonstrates outstanding activity in overall water splitting,requiring only 1.619 V to deliver 10 mA cm-2with more than 72 h’ long-term stability.The combination of notable performance,multi-functionality and highly scalable spray-drying synthesis method enables this material as a novel and cost-efficient transition metal-based electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.     

Ion‐Exchange‐Assisted Synthesis of Pt‐VC Nanoparticles Loaded on Graphitized Carbon: A High‐Performance Nanocomposite Electrocatalyst for Oxygen‐Reduction Reactions

Carbide‐based electrocatalysts are superior to traditional carbon‐based electrocatalysts, such as the commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts, in terms of their mass activity and stability. Herein, we report a general approach for the preparation of a nanocomposite electrocatalyst of platinum and vanadium carbide nanoparticles that are loaded onto graphitized carbon. The nanocomposite, which was prepared in a localized and controlled fashion by using an ion‐exchange process, was an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR). Both the stability and the durability of the Pt‐VC/GC nanocomposite catalyst could be enhanced compared with the state‐of‐the‐art Pt/C. This approach can be extended to the synthesis of other metal‐carbide‐based nanocatalysts. Moreover, this straightforward synthesis of high‐performance composite nanocatalysts can be scaled up to meet the requirements for mass production.     

Transition metal-based electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Electrochemical overall water splitting is attracting a broad focus as a promising strategy for converting the electrical output of renewable resources into chemical fuels, specifically oxygen and hydrogen. However, the urgent challenge in water electrolysis is to search for low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts based on earth-abundant elements as an alternative to the high-cost but effective noble metal-based catalysts. The transition metal-based catalysts are more appealing than the noble metal catalysts because of its low cost, high performance and long stability. Some recent advances for the development in overall water splitting are reviewed in terms of transition metal-based oxides, carbides, phosphides, sulfides, and hybrids of their mixtures as hybrid bifunctional electrocatalysts. Concentrating on different catalytic mechanisms, recent advances in their structural design, controllable synthesis, mechanistic insight, and performance-enhancing strategies are proposed. The challenges and prospects for the future development of transition metal-based bifunctional electrocatalysts are also addressed.     

Methanol and ethanol electrooxidation on Pt and Pd supported on carbon microspheres in alkaline media

Noble metal (Pt, Pd) electrocatalysts supported on carbon microspheres (CMS) are used for methanol and ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The results show that noble metal electrocatalysts supported on carbon microspheres give better performance than that supported on carbon black. It is well known that palladium is not a good electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation, but it shows excellently higher activity and better steady-state electrolysis than Pt for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline media. The results show a synergistic effect by the interaction between Pd and carbon microspheres. The Pd supported on carbon microspheres in this paper possesses excellent electrocatalytic properties and may be of great potential in direct ethanol fuel cells.     

基于碳纤维材料基底的电解水制氢催化剂的研究进展

电解水制氢技术是未来获得清洁氢能源的有效途径之一。铂作为高效的电解水制氢催化剂,由于其价格昂贵,难以回收,不利于氢能源与氢经济的发展,因此发展高效的非贵金属电催化剂,使电解水制氢过程更加高效、经济化是十分关键的科学问题。本文综述了近年来电解水制氢催化剂的研究进展,重点集中在以碳纤维材料为基底的非贵金属催化剂领域。总结了几类重要的多相异质非贵金属催化剂,包括磷化物、硫化物、硒化物、碳化物、氧化物催化剂等,重点探讨了各种析氢催化剂的合成方法和性能提高策略。同时,本文也简要概述了碳纤维基底材料在电分析化学检测方面的应用研究。     

Amorphous Co-P Film: an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Seawater

Seawater electrolysis is considered an attractive alternative to conventional freshwater electrolysis for hydrogen production due to the abundance of seawater in nature. For this reason, efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline seawater are highly desired. In this study, we report an amorphous Co−P alloy on nickel foam (Co−P/NF) that behaves as an efficient and stable HER electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater electrolysis. The Co−P/NF presents high catalytic performance for HER, requiring a low overpotential of 213 mV to drive a current density of 100 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 120.2 mV dec⁻¹ in alkaline seawater. Furthermore, it shows remarkable electrochemical and structural stability in alkaline seawater.