Core-shell Mo₂C@NC/Mo₂C hollow microspheres as highly efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Developing cost-effective and highly efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial.
• Molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) materials are promising alternatives to noble metal catalysts due to their abundance and tunable properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel Mo₂C@NC/Mo₂C hollow microspheres for enhanced HER catalysis.
• To investigate the catalytic activity and kinetics of the synthesized material in both acidic and alkaline media.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal self-assembly process using guanosine and hexaammonium molybdate as precursors.
• Characterization of the resulting β-Mo₂C core and β-Mo₂C particles embedded within a nitrogen-doped carbon shell structure.

Main Results:

• The synthesized Mo₂C@NC/Mo₂C hollow microspheres exhibited outstanding catalytic activity and fast kinetics for HER.
• The improved performance is attributed to a high ratio of exposed active sites and abundant interfacial structures.
• Excellent catalytic performance was observed in both acidic and alkaline solutions.

Conclusions:

• The developed Mo₂C@NC/Mo₂C hollow microspheres represent a highly active and efficient HER catalyst.
• This work presents a new template-free strategy for designing advanced molybdenum carbide-based electrocatalysts.
• The findings offer a promising pathway for low-cost hydrogen production.