Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Nanosheets Strongly Coupled with Mo2C Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Abstract Exploring earth-abundant and noble metal-free catalysts for water electrolysis is pivotal in renewable hydrogen production. Herein, a highly active electrocatalyst of nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets coupled with Mo2C nanoparticles (Mo2C/NPC) was synthesized by a novel method with hi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Nanoscale Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s11671-019-3147-z |
| Summary: | Abstract Exploring earth-abundant and noble metal-free catalysts for water electrolysis is pivotal in renewable hydrogen production. Herein, a highly active electrocatalyst of nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets coupled with Mo2C nanoparticles (Mo2C/NPC) was synthesized by a novel method with high BET surface area of 1380 m2 g−1 using KOH to activate carbon composite materials. The KOH plays a key role in etching out MoS2 to produce Mo precursor; simultaneously, it corrodes carbon to form porous structure and produce reducing gas such as H2 and CO. The resulting Mo2C/NPC hybrid demonstrated superior HER activity in acid solution, with the overpotential of 166 mV at current density of 10 mA cm−2, onset overpotential of 93 mV, Tafel slope of 68 mV dec−1, and remarkable long-term cycling stability. The present strategy may provide a promising strategy to fabricate other metal carbide/carbon hybrids for energy conversion and storage. |
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| ISSN: | 1931-7573 1556-276X |