Pt nanoparticles-decorated molybdenum nitrides for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.
1College of Chemical Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Science and Technology Jincheng Shanxi 048000 China wangjie2@sxist.edu.cn.
RSC Advances
|November 29, 2023
Summary
Platinum-doped molybdenum nitride catalysts significantly improve hydrogen production efficiency in electrochemical water splitting. This breakthrough offers a low-cost, high-performance alternative to traditional platinum catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Developing low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts for electrochemical water splitting is crucial for hydrogen production.
- Molybdenum nitrides are promising alternatives to platinum for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but their activity is limited by strong Mo-H bonding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance the catalytic activity of molybdenum nitrides for HER by incorporating platinum doping.
- To investigate the effect of platinum incorporation on the electronic structure and catalytic performance of molybdenum nitrides.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of platinum-doped molybdenum nitrides.
- Electrochemical characterization of catalysts for HER in acidic solution, including overpotential and exchange current density measurements.
Main Results:
- Pt (5 wt%)-MoN exhibits excellent HER performance with a low overpotential of 47 mV at 10 mA cm-2.
- The catalyst achieved a high exchange current density (j0 = 0.98 mA cm-2).
- Enhanced performance is attributed to the modified electronic structure of molybdenum induced by platinum incorporation.
Conclusions:
- Platinum doping effectively enhances the catalytic activity of molybdenum nitrides for HER.
- Pt-MoN presents a viable, cost-effective catalyst for efficient hydrogen production via water splitting.
