Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons

Developing highly efficient and affordable noble-metal-free catalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an important step toward the economical production of hydrogen. As a nonprecious-metal catalyst for the HER, molybdenum nitride (MoN) has excellent corrosion resistance and high elec...

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Main Authors: Zhu, Y., Chen, G., Xu, X., Yang, G., Liu, M., Shao, Zongping
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Chemical Society 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54290
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author Zhu, Y.
Chen, G.
Xu, X.
Yang, G.
Liu, M.
Shao, Zongping
author_facet Zhu, Y.
Chen, G.
Xu, X.
Yang, G.
Liu, M.
Shao, Zongping
author_sort Zhu, Y.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Developing highly efficient and affordable noble-metal-free catalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an important step toward the economical production of hydrogen. As a nonprecious-metal catalyst for the HER, molybdenum nitride (MoN) has excellent corrosion resistance and high electrical conductivity, but its catalytic activity is still inadequate. Here we report our findings in dramatically enhancing the HER activity of MoN by creating porous MoN@nitrogen-doped carbon (MoN-NC) nano-octahedrons derived from metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The composite catalyst displays remarkably high catalytic activity, demonstrating a low overpotential of 62 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 (η10), a small Tafel slope of 54 mV dec–1, and a large exchange current density of 0.778 mA cm–2 while maintaining good stability. The enhancement in catalytic properties is attributed to the unique nanostructure of the MoN, the high porosity of the electrode, and the synergistic effect between the MoN and the nitrogen-doped carbon substrate. The performances are among the best ever reported for nonprecious-metal-based electrocatalysts (comparable to those of a 20% Pt/C commercial catalyst), making the porous MoN-NC nano-octahedrons some of the most active and acid-stable electrocatalysts for the HER.
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publishDate 2017
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-542902017-09-20T03:36:07Z Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons Zhu, Y. Chen, G. Xu, X. Yang, G. Liu, M. Shao, Zongping Developing highly efficient and affordable noble-metal-free catalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an important step toward the economical production of hydrogen. As a nonprecious-metal catalyst for the HER, molybdenum nitride (MoN) has excellent corrosion resistance and high electrical conductivity, but its catalytic activity is still inadequate. Here we report our findings in dramatically enhancing the HER activity of MoN by creating porous MoN@nitrogen-doped carbon (MoN-NC) nano-octahedrons derived from metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The composite catalyst displays remarkably high catalytic activity, demonstrating a low overpotential of 62 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 (η10), a small Tafel slope of 54 mV dec–1, and a large exchange current density of 0.778 mA cm–2 while maintaining good stability. The enhancement in catalytic properties is attributed to the unique nanostructure of the MoN, the high porosity of the electrode, and the synergistic effect between the MoN and the nitrogen-doped carbon substrate. The performances are among the best ever reported for nonprecious-metal-based electrocatalysts (comparable to those of a 20% Pt/C commercial catalyst), making the porous MoN-NC nano-octahedrons some of the most active and acid-stable electrocatalysts for the HER. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54290 10.1021/acscatal.7b00120 American Chemical Society restricted
spellingShingle Zhu, Y.
Chen, G.
Xu, X.
Yang, G.
Liu, M.
Shao, Zongping
Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title_full Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title_fullStr Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title_short Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution by Strongly Coupled Molybdenum Nitride@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Porous Nano-Octahedrons
title_sort enhancing electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution by strongly coupled molybdenum nitride@nitrogen-doped carbon porous nano-octahedrons
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54290