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In-Situ-Grown Cu Dendrites Plasmonically Enhance Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution on Facet-Engineered Cu2 O.
Hao Zhang1,2, Jiefeng Diao3, Yonghui Liu4
1Department of Materials and London Center for Nanotechnology, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|September 5, 2023
Summary
Facet-engineered copper oxide (Cu2O) nanostructures show enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. In-situ generated copper dendrites improve catalytic activity through plasmon-activated hot electron injection.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Developing efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for sustainable energy technologies.
- Facet engineering of nanostructures offers a pathway to optimize catalytic performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize facet-engineered Cu2O nanostructures for electrocatalytic HER.
- To investigate the role of exposed crystal planes and in-situ formed copper (Cu) dendrites in enhancing HER activity.
- To elucidate the mechanism of plasmon-activated hot electron injection (HEI) from Cu dendrites to Cu2O.
Main Methods:
- Wet chemical synthesis of Cu2O nanostructures.
- Electrocatalytic HER measurements.
- Operando Raman spectroscopy and ex-situ characterization.
- Incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) measurements.
- Ab initio nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations.
Main Results:
- Octahedral Cu2O nanostructures with exposed (111) facets exhibited superior HER performance.
- Cu2O was reduced to Cu dendrites on the surface during HER, significantly improving catalytic activity.
- Illumination induced a plasmon-activated electrochemical system, enhancing the onset potential.
- IPCE and simulations confirmed hot electron injection from Cu dendrites to Cu2O, increasing charge density and improving catalytic activity.
Conclusions:
- Facet engineering of Cu2O nanostructures, particularly exposing (111) facets, is effective for HER.
- In-situ generated Cu dendrites play a critical role in enhancing HER through a plasmon-activated mechanism involving hot electron injection.
- The synergistic effect between Cu2O and Cu dendrites offers a promising strategy for advanced electrocatalyst design.
