Core–shell construction of metal@carbon by mechanochemically recycling plastic wastes: towards an efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Rational surface engineering of non-noble metal electrocatalysts supported on carbon materials (metal@C) provides potential opportunities to gain sustainable energy by electrocatalytic water splitting. Here, the plastic wastes-based electrode materials by...

Carbon-Based Composites for Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts: Design, Fabrication, and Application

“…Moreover, the thickness of the carbon layer has been confirmed to affect OER activity at both LCD and HCD strongly. Therefore, in addition to assessing the currently used mechanochemically assisted synthesis methods [124] or selecting appropriate types of metal-organic salts [125], future work could focus on developing other facile methods for controlling the thickness of the carbon layer. Convenient methods should also be developed to improve the stability of carbon-based electrocatalysts and avoid degradation [128].…”

“…Experimental results demonstrate that an Fe/Fe 3 C-A@CNT sample with a surface carbon layer of ~1.77 nm thickness exhibits a lower overpotential (η 10 = 292 mV) and a smaller Tafel slope (29 mV dec −1 ) than samples with thicker carbon layers (>9 nm) (Fe/Fe 3 C-P@CNT and FeACAO@CT) and samples without a carbon layer (Fe/Fe 3 C-C@CNT) [125]. In another work, Zhao et al [124] found that the length of ball milling treatment (Figure 8d-f,h,i) also affected the thickness of the carbon shell when they employed a mechanochemical approach with plastic waste as the precursors to synthesize Ni@C electrocatalysts with tunable core-shell structures, octahedral-like crystal (OLC) morphology, and abundant surface defects. The ball milling process effectively facilitates the uniform dispersion of the metal precursor within the plastic matrix, resulting in an adjustable active core-shell structure.…”

“…Although carbon coating can improve catalytic stability, an extremely thick carbon layer can weaken the electron penetration effect and hinder the improvement of intrinsic activity. DFT calculations reveal that as the graphene layer of the carbon shell increases, the electron transfer from the metal core to the outermost carbon shell rapidly decreases [124]. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely control the thickness of the carbon coating through a convenient and effective preparation method, which is the key to optimizing the electron penetration effect and achieving a balance between activity and stability.…”

“…(b) SEM and (c) TEM of Fe/Fe 3 C-A@CNT[125]. (d) Schematic illustration for the mechanochemical synthesis of the metal/metal oxides@carbon[124]. TEM images of (e,f) Ni@PMMA-BM (1 h), (h,i) Ni@PMMA-BM-3 h, and (g,j) Ni@PMMA-PM.…”

Oxygen defect engineering on low-crystalline iron(iii) oxyhydroxide as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation

“…7 However, the scarcity of raw materials severely limits the large-scale application and commercial production. 8,9 Therefore, the preparation of low-cost, efficient, and stable non-precious metal-based nanocatalysts is a key strategy to improve the OER and promote water electrolysis. 10,11…”