Copious Dislocations Defect in Amorphous/Crystalline/Amorphous Sandwiched Structure P-NiMoO4 Electrocatalyst toward
Kai Zhang1,2, Qingmei Su2, Weihao Shi1,2
1School of Materials Science & Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
ACS Nano
|January 16, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a novel electrocatalyst with abundant dislocations for efficient hydrogen evolution reactions in alkaline solutions and seawater. This inexpensive, stable catalyst offers a promising pathway for clean hydrogen production.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Developing efficient, cost-effective, and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) in alkaline media and seawater remains a significant challenge.
- Heterostructured materials with engineered defects are crucial for enhancing catalytic performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize a novel amorphous/crystalline/amorphous sandwiched electrocatalyst with high-density dislocations.
- To investigate the role of dislocations and synergistic interfacial effects in improving HER activity.
- To evaluate the electrocatalyst's performance in alkaline solution and seawater.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of the electrocatalyst using thermal phosphidation strategies.
- Characterization of the material's structure, including dislocations and phase interfaces.
- Electrochemical testing for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 1 M KOH and artificial seawater.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of an amorphous/crystalline/amorphous sandwiched structure with abundant dislocations.
- Demonstrated significant enhancement in HER activity due to dislocations, cracks, and synergistic interfacial effects.
- Achieved low overpotentials of 45 mV (1 M KOH) and 75 mV (seawater) at 10 mA/cm².
- Exhibited excellent long-term stability over 100 hours.
Conclusions:
- The developed P-NiMoO4 electrocatalyst demonstrates superior performance for HER in alkaline and seawater conditions.
- The amorphous/crystalline/amorphous structure with abundant dislocations is an effective strategy for designing advanced non-noble-metal electrocatalysts.
- This work presents a facile approach for creating dislocation-rich electrocatalysts for widespread hydrogen production applications.
