Abstract
Electrochemical water splitting is one of the most economical and sustainable methods for large-scale hydrogen production. However, the development of low-cost and earth-abundant non-noble-metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction remains a challenge. Here we report a two-dimensional coupled hybrid of molybdenum carbide and reduced graphene oxide with a ternary polyoxometalate-polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as a precursor. The hybrid exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction and excellent stability in acidic media, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the best among these reported non-noble-metal catalysts. Theoretical calculations on the basis of density functional theory reveal that the active sites for hydrogen evolution stem from the pyridinic nitrogens, as well as the carbon atoms, in the graphene. In a proof-of-concept trial, an electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution is fabricated, which may open new avenues for the design of nanomaterials utilizing POMs/conducting polymer/reduced-graphene oxide nanocomposites.
Highlights
Electrochemical water splitting is one of the most economical and sustainable methods for large-scale hydrogen production
Three main advantages of this method are attributed to the Mo2C@NPC/ NPRGO hybrid: (1) due to the unique structure of PMo12–PPy/ reduced graphene oxide (RGO), the Mo2C NPs are nanosized and uniformly embedded in the carbon matrix without aggregation; (2) the Mo2C NPs are coated with carbon shells, which effectively prevent Mo2C NPs from aggregating or oxidizing and impart them with fast electron transfer ability; and (3) owing to the heteroatom dopants (N, P), a large number of active sites are exposed
Mo2C@NPC/NPRGO was synthesized as follows: (1) the PMo12–PPy/RGO nanocomposite was synthesized via a green one-pot redox relay reaction
Summary
Electrochemical water splitting is one of the most economical and sustainable methods for large-scale hydrogen production. The development of low-cost and earth-abundant non-noble-metal catalysts to replace Pt is an important and urgently needed for practical applications Because of their Pt-like catalytic behaviours[6], Mo-based compounds, such as Mo2C7–10, MoN11–13, MoS2 (refs 14–17), and others[18,19,20] have attracted substantial interest as a new class of electrocatalysts. RGO-supported Mo-based catalysts prepared with POMs–PPy/RGO as a precursor may efficiently hinder the Mo sources and graphene from aggregating during the process of forming the RGO-supported NPs. To the best of our knowledge, reports on POMs, PPy and RGO ternary hybrids by a green and one-pot redox relay reaction are rare. This approach provides a perspective for designing 2D nanohybrids with transition-metal carbides and RGO as HER catalysts
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
