Enhancing deuterium/hydrogen evolution performance through synergistic effects of Ni and V₂O₃

Abstract

Compared to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the deuterium evolution reaction (DER) has slower kinetics that causes unsatisfactory performance of conventional HER catalysts in DER. Herein, we report a Ni/V2O3‐500 catalyst with nanosheet morphology that shows excellent performance in both alkaline DER and HER with ultralow overpotential of 64 mV (in 1 M NaOD) and 32 mV (in 1 M NaOH) at 10 mA cm−2. The activity remains stable after accelerated durability test and 1000 h of chronopotentiometric test at 500 mA cm−2. The high performance is attributed to uniform dispersion of Ni nanoparticles and synergistic effects between Ni and V2O3. Density functional theory modeling demonstrates that the synergistic effect optimizes the adsorption of H*/D* intermediate, promoting the reaction rate. This study provides valuable insights into metal‐support interactions in electrocatalysis which facilitates the development of superior DER/HER catalysts. The Ni/V2O3‐500 shows great potential for industrial applications.

Synergistic electronic structure modulation of Pt using V2O3 and V8C7 for enhanced deuterium evolution performance

“…The V 2p spectra exhibit the coexistence of four oxidation states, namely V 5+ , V 4+ , V 3+ , and V carbide (V-C) species. 12,55,69 Taking Pt/V 2 O 3 /V 8 C 7 as an example, the four V species appear as peaks at the binding energy of 517.3, 516.2, 515.0, and 513.7 eV, respectively. The V-C species corresponds to the V 8 C 7 phase while the V 5+ , V 4+ , and V 3+ can be assigned to V oxides.…”

“…9,10 Electrolysis of heavy water (D 2 O) for D 2 production emerges as a simple and green alternative. 11,12 While alkaline electrolysis is the dominant technique for H 2 production due to its cost-effectiveness, it faces challenges such as impurity issues and slow response rates. [13][14][15][16] In contrast, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology produces high-purity H 2 directly and tolerates frequent load changes, despite a higher capital and maintenance cost.…”

“…We have shown previously the potential of V 2 O 3 to adjust the electronic structure and hydrogen adsorption energy of the supported metal catalyst, which is envisaged to also apply to Pt-based catalysts. 12 It is hypothesized that a V 2 O 3 /V 8 C 7 dual support system can combine the advantages of both components and offer more precise tuning of metal-support interaction due to the additional degree of freedom introduced.…”