Temperature-dependent structural and morphological engineering of nickel nitride via nitrogen plasma processing for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Plasma Physics

Background:

• Plasma-based surface modulation is crucial for high-performance electrocatalyst development.
• Existing multi-step methods limit scalability; solely plasma-driven control faces challenges due to unclear discharge dynamics.
• Controlling surface structure and phase of electrocatalysts is essential for optimizing catalytic activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable, one-step plasma strategy for electrocatalyst surface modulation.
• To investigate the effect of controlled surface temperature during plasma processing on electrocatalyst properties.
• To enhance electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

Main Methods:

• Development of a cooling-mediated plasma strategy for direct surface modulation of metal electrocatalysts.
• Utilized nitrogen plasma processing on a nickel substrate with controlled surface thermal fields.
• Employed in situ plasma diagnostics, numerical simulations, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and electrocatalytic performance testing.

Main Results:

• Achieved one-step modulation of nickel nitride morphology and facet exposure via cooling-mediated plasma treatment.
• Demonstrated improved hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities with plasma-tailored nanostructures.
• Verified the influence of controlled surface temperature on reactive species distribution and surface dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The cooling-mediated plasma strategy offers a cost-effective and scalable approach for electrocatalyst structural engineering.
• Controlled surface temperature during plasma processing is critical for optimizing electrocatalyst performance.
• This one-step method significantly enhances HER and OER activities, paving the way for advanced electrocatalyst design.