Economizing Production of Diverse 2D Layered Metal Hydroxides for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

Unbiased photoelectrochemical water splitting for the promising InGaN nanorods photoelectrode is highly desirable, but it is practically hindered by the serious recombination of charge carrier in bulk and surface of InGaN nanorods. Herein, an unbiased Z‐scheme InGaN nanorods/Cu2O nanoparticles heterostructured system with boosted interfacial charge transfer is constructed for the first time. The introduced Cu2O nanoparticles pose double‐sided effect on photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of InGaN nanorods, which enables a robust hybrid structure and induces weakened light absorption capability simultaneously. As a result, the optimized InGaN/Cu2O‐1.5C photoelectrode with the uniform morphology exhibits an enhanced photocurrent density of ≈170 µA cm−2 at 0 V versus Pt, with 8.5‐fold enhancement compared with pure InGaN nanorods. Comprehensive investigations into experimental results and theoretical calculations reveal that the electrons accumulation and holes depletion of Cu2O facilitate to form a typical Z‐scheme band alignment, thus providing a large photovoltage to drive unbiased water splitting and enhancing the stability of Cu2O. This work provides a novel and facile strategy to achieve InGaN nanorods and other catalyst‐based PEC water splitting without external bias, and to relieve the bottlenecks of charge transfer dynamics at the electrode bulk and electrode/electrolyte interface by constructing Z‐scheme heterostructure.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly Efficient InGaN Nanorods Photoelectrode by Constructing Z‐scheme Charge Transfer System for Unbiased Water Splitting

Lin

Zhang

Chai

et al. 2020

“…Recently, a similar MgO‐templated process was proposed by Zheng and co‐workers to fabricate hierarchically structured HPCN (Figure c) . Based on the hydrolyzation reaction of MgO, they developed a facile method for the controllable synthesis of layered metal hydroxide nanosheets and their derived hierarchical structures . Starting with the MgO microrods, the hierarchically structured carbon microrods composed of vertically aligned HPCN were synthesized by the hydrolyzation of MgO and then CVD growth of carbon.…”

Section: Sulfur Cathodes Based On Hollow Porous Carbon Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Hollow Porous Carbon Materials for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Wang

Pei

et al. 2019

Self Cite

356

184

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered as one of the most potential next‐generation rechargeable batteries due to their high theoretical energy density. However, some critical issues, such as low capacity, poor cycling stability, and safety concerns, must be solved before Li–S batteries can be used practically. During the past decade, tremendous efforts have been devoted to the design and synthesis of electrode materials. Benefiting from their tunable structural parameters, hollow porous carbon materials (HPCM) remarkably enhance the performances of both sulfur cathodes and lithium anodes, promoting the development of high‐performance Li–S batteries. Here, together with the templated synthesis of HPCM, recent progresses of Li–S batteries based on HPCM are reviewed. Several important issues in Li–S batteries, including sulfur loading, polysulfide entrapping, and Li metal protection, are discussed, followed by a summary on recent research on HPCM‐based sulfur cathodes, modified separators, and lithium anodes. After the discussion on emerging technical obstacles toward high‐energy Li–S batteries, prospects for the future directions of HPCM research in the field of Li–S batteries are also proposed.

“…To date, many skillful preparation methods have been used to expand the synthetic routes to NiFe-LDHs, which can improve the OER performance. [113][114][115][116] In addition, the design of porous structures, [117,118] the introduction of rich defects, [119] the formation of amorphous morphologies, [120][121][122] the preparation of concentration and valence-state gradients, [123] and anionic regulation [124] have also been shown to effectively enhance OER performances.…”

Section: The Nife-layered Hydroxide (Nife-ldh) Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress on NiFe‐Based Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Zhao

Zhang

et al. 2020

256

119

are required. [2a,b,3] Among the various sustainable energy candidates, hydrogen fuel has garnered significant attention owing to its natural advantages. Hydrogen is typically a nontoxic and environmentally friendly power source that can be produced from water, which is an earth-abundant reactant, and produces no CO 2 emissions when converted into other energy forms. [4-6] In addition, due to its high mass-specific energy density, hydrogen can be efficiently used in mobile applications. Moreover, hydrogen can be used in combustion engines and fuel cells. Hence, the development of efficient hydrogen-based energy systems is necessary. [7-9] Producing hydrogen by electrolytic water splitting is considered a promising approach to resolve the current environmental crisis and has been extensively investigated with emphasis on availability and sustainability. [10,11] During water electrolysis, the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [12] and the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occur simultaneously, as exemplified by the following equations