Two-Dimensional Sandwich-Structured Mesoporous Mo2C/Carbon/Graphene Nanohybrids for Efficient Hydrogen Production Electrocatalysts

Hou D, Zhu S, Tian H, Wei H, Feng X, Mai Y (2018)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2018

Journal

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces American Chemical Society

Book Volume: 10

Pages Range: 40800-40807

Journal Issue: 47

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b15250

Abstract

The main challenge in water electrolysis, an appealing technique to alleviate future energy crisis, is the design of efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). On the basis of an interface self-assembly approach, we synthesize mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon/Mo2C/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrids (denoted as mNC-Mo2C@rGO), which represent a new type of two-dimensional Mo2C/carbon hybrid nanomaterials and possess a sandwichlike structure with well-defined mesopores. The method involves the co-self-assembly of spherical micelles formed from polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide), pyrrole (Py) monomers, and molybdate ions (Mo7O24 6-) on GO surfaces in aqueous solution, followed by polymerization of Py and calcination of the nanocomposites at 900 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. The resultant mNC-Mo2C@rGO nanosheets possess high N contents, large specific surface areas (SSAs), and 4 nm Mo2C particles well-distributed in the mesoporous carbon matrix. The Mo2C content is controllable in the range of 18.4-42.4 wt % by adjusting the feed amount of Mo7O24 6-. In particular, mNC-Mo2C@rGO with an SSA of 344 m2/g and a Mo2C content of ca. 28 wt % exhibits the highest HER catalytic activity in 1 M KOH electrolyte, with a 95 mV overpotential at 10 mA/cm2, a Tafel slope of 49.8 mV/dec, and a long-term stability of 60 h at 20 mA/cm2. This study blazes a trail for the synthesis of new functional nanomaterials with potential applications as efficient HER electrocatalysts.

Involved external institutions

Shanghai Jiao Tong University / 上海交通大学 CN China (CN) Technische Universität Dresden DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Hou, D., Zhu, S., Tian, H., Wei, H., Feng, X., & Mai, Y. (2018). Two-Dimensional Sandwich-Structured Mesoporous Mo2C/Carbon/Graphene Nanohybrids for Efficient Hydrogen Production Electrocatalysts. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(47), 40800-40807. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b15250

MLA:

Hou, Dan, et al. "Two-Dimensional Sandwich-Structured Mesoporous Mo2C/Carbon/Graphene Nanohybrids for Efficient Hydrogen Production Electrocatalysts." ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 10.47 (2018): 40800-40807.

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