PVP/ZIF-8-Derived Zn, Ni Co-loaded N-Doped Porous Carbon as a Catalyst for an Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Jixian He,Fei Wang,Junju Li,Yanqiu Jing,Xiao Lei,Qiang Lei,Yide Yang,Xuewei Zhang,Gang Hu

doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00723

Jixian He, Fei Wang + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2020.00723

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Abstract

Exploring catalysts with low cost and excellent performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is still a significant challenge. In this work, zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8), hybridized with polyvinylpyrrolidone, was used to prepare Zn, Ni co-loaded N-doped porous carbon (ZnNi/NPC) via a straightforward absorption and pyrolysis process. The as-prepared ZnNi/NPC was used as a catalyst for the HER. This experiment showed that the porous structure and Ni doping have a significant influence on the HER activity of the catalyst. Compared with Zn/NC and Zn/NPC, ZnNi/NPC exhibits superior HER activity with an overpotential of 198 mV and a Tafel slope of 69.2 mV dec−1. ZnNi/NPC also shows excellent physical and chemical stability during the HER process. Considering the lower cost and excellent HER performance of ZnNi/NPC, this work provides an attractive solution to fabricate non-precious materials and offers a possible new strategy to replace Pt-based electrocatalysts for HER.

Highlights

Hydrogen is viewed as one of the most promising forms of energy to replace traditional fossil fuels because of its sustainable performance and high energy density (Chen N. et al, 2020)
We explored the influence of the porous structure and Ni doping on the electrocatalytic performance in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and found that the porous structure and Ni doping can significantly improve the HER activity of Zn-loaded Ndoped carbon
The crystalline structure of all as-synthesized samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Hydrogen is viewed as one of the most promising forms of energy to replace traditional fossil fuels because of its sustainable performance and high energy density (Chen N. et al, 2020). PVP/ZIF-8 Derived ZnNi/NC for HER (MOF) containing nitrogen and oxygen heteroatoms (Co-NOMOF) mixed with thiomolybdate [Mo3S13]2− nanoclusters as a precursor to preparing a Co9S8/MoS2@NSOC nanocomposite via a direct pyrolysis process They found that Co9S8/MoS2@NSOC exhibits excellent HER performance with an overpotential of 194 and 233 mV in 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution at 10 mA cm−2, respectively (Chen W. et al, 2019). Zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8), constructed using organic ligands and Zn2+, has a high specific surface area, adjustable pore size, and excellent physical and chemical stability It is widely used for sensing (Chen W. et al, 2019; Knedel et al, 2020), drug delivery (Adhikari et al, 2015; Qin et al, 2019), and catalysis (Liu et al, 2014; Yang et al, 2018). The chronoamperometric curve of ZnNi/NPC was obtained at a voltage of 150 mV in N2-saturated 1.0 M KOH for 12 h

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT