Water Splitting Catalysts: Colloidal Synthesis of Mo–Ni Alloy Nanoparticles as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Efficient Overall Water Splitting (Adv. Mater. Interfaces 13/2018)

Abstract

Colloidal synthesis of highly monodispersed Mo–Ni alloy nanoparticles is achieved by thermal decomposition of by thermal decomposition of Ni(acac)2 and Mo(CO)6 in the presence of 1-octadecene and oleyamine at 320 °C. The optimal Mo0.6Ni0.4 alloy nanoparticles exhibit excellent performance for both the water splitting reactions, namely, hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. This attribute of the as-prepared alloy nanoparticles allows one to construct a two-electrode electrolyzer by using them as bifunctional catalysts. An added benefit here is the ease of depositing them on on-demand substrates to fabricate either rigid or flexible high-performance electrodes for overall water splitting. More details can be found in article 1800359 by Taotao Zhang, Xiaowang Liu, Baoyou Geng and co-workers.