Exploring Selenide Synthesis Pathways for Optimizing Energy Conversion.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry

Background:

• Transition metal selenides are promising for catalysis.
• Understanding structure-property relationships is key for optimizing performance.
• Solvothermal synthesis offers control over material characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the structural and electrochemical properties of binary and quaternary nickel, cobalt, and iron selenides.
• To correlate structural features with electrochemical activity and stability.
• To assess their potential for hydrogen generation applications.

Main Methods:

• Solvothermal synthesis for powder preparation.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy for structural analysis.
• Electrochemical analysis to evaluate performance and stability.

Main Results:

• Significant phase diversity observed in synthesized selenides.
• Increasing d-block metal proportion enhanced structural entropy and stability, favoring nickel.
• Nickel selenide-based samples exhibited the highest electrochemically active surface area.
• Quaternary systems showed varied electrochemical stability; equal metal contributions were beneficial.

Conclusions:

• Structural entropy influences homogeneity and stability in transition metal selenides.
• Nickel selenides are highly active electrochemically.
• Optimized quaternary systems offer stable electrodes for potential hydrogen generation.