Interfacial Engineering of 3D Hollow Mo-Based Carbide/Nitride Nanostructures

Molybdenum carbide and nitride nanocrystals have been widely recognized as ideal electrocatalyst materials for water splitting. Furthermore, the interfacial engineering strategy can effectively tune their physical and chemical properties to improve performance. Herein, we produced N-doped molybdenum carbide nanosheets on carbonized melamine (N-doped Mo₂C@CN) and 3D hollow Mo₂C-Mo₂N nanostructures (3D H-Mo₂C-Mo₂N) with tuneable interfacial properties via high-temperature treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that Mo₂C and Mo₂N nanocrystals in 3D hollow nanostructures are chemically bonded with each other and produce stable heterostructures. The 3D H-Mo₂C-Mo₂N nanostructures demonstrate lower onset potential and overpotential at a current density of 10 mV cm^-2 than the N-doped Mo₂C@CN nanostructure due to its higher active sites and improved interfacial charge transfer. The current work presents a strategy to tune metal carbide/nitride nanostructures and interfacial properties for the production of high-performance energy materials.