Controlled growth of a high selectivity interface for seawater electrolysis

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Seawater electrolysis is crucial for hydrogen energy conversion.
• Key challenges include achieving high selectivity, activity, and stability.
• Developing efficient electrocatalysts is essential for practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct novel graphdiyne-RhO_x-graphdiyne (GDY/RhO_x/GDY) heterostructures.
• To investigate the catalytic performance of these heterostructures for overall seawater electrolysis.
• To understand the structure-activity relationship at the interface for enhanced performance.

Main Methods:

• In situ-controlled growth of graphdiyne (GDY) on RhO_x nanocrystals.
• Fabrication of GDY/RhO_x/GDY heterostructures.
• Electrochemical characterization of seawater electrolysis performance.

Main Results:

• Formation of a unique sp-hybridized carbon-oxide-Rhodium (sp-C∼O-Rh) interface.
• The sp-C∼O-Rh active sites exhibit enhanced catalytic activity and stability.
• Achieved high performance with low cell voltages (1.42 and 1.52 V) at high current densities (10 and 500 mA cm^-2).

Conclusions:

• The GDY/RhO_x/GDY heterostructures demonstrate superior performance for overall seawater electrolysis.
• The rational design of the sp-C-metal-oxide active center offers tunable redox properties and catalytic capabilities.
• This work provides a successful example for designing advanced catalytic systems for energy conversion.