Raspberry-like Rh-NiFeO_x quantum dots for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Electrochemical water splitting is key for sustainable hydrogen production and decarbonization.
• Noble metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media exhibit poor mass activity and kinetics.
• This limits the large-scale application of efficient hydrogen generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize novel catalysts for enhanced alkaline HER performance.
• To investigate the synergistic interfacial effects in noble metal/oxide heterostructures.
• To improve the efficiency and stability of hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of raspberry-like Rh-NiFeO_x quantum dots with dispersed Rh nanoclusters on NiFeO_x.
• Characterization of catalyst morphology, composition, and electrochemical performance.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate reaction mechanisms.

Main Results:

• The Rh-NiFeO_x catalyst demonstrated significantly enhanced HER activity and stability in alkaline environments.
• A 17-fold increase in noble metal mass activity and reduced overpotential were observed.
• DFT calculations confirmed that Rh-NiFeO_x interfaces facilitate proton-to-hydrogen intermediate reactions, boosting efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Raspberry-like Rh-NiFeO_x quantum dots offer superior alkaline HER performance due to synergistic interfacial effects.
• This provides a new strategy for developing advanced noble metal/oxide heterostructures for efficient hydrogen production.
• The findings pave the way for more practical electrochemical water splitting applications.