Highly active and durable nanostructured molybdenum carbide electrocatalysts for hydrogen production

Atomic H-Induced Mo2C Hybrid as an Active and Stable Bifunctional Electrocatalyst

“…35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 12 molybdenum, and thereby decrease its hydrogen binding energy. 24 A Gaussian fit gives a most common diameter of 7.5 nm (inset in Figure 2d). In contrast, the Mo 2 C on Si without GNR support forms larger aggregates, as shown in the TEM image (Supporting Information, Figure S9).…”

“…23 Unfortunately, chars from the pyrolysis of the carbon usually contaminate the resultant carbide. 24 Coincidentally, quite recently, functionalized 2D layered metal carbides/carbonitrides (MXene) including Mo 2 C have been synthesized by selective etching with concentrated HF or a solution of LiF and HCl.…”

Mo2C nanoparticles embedded within bacterial cellulose-derived 3D N-doped carbon nanofiber networks for efficient hydrogen evolution

“…1,2,[4][5][6][7] Among these non-noble-metal HER catalysts, molybdenum carbide (Mo 2 C), which features a d-band electronic structure and catalytic properties similar to those of platinum, has been demonstrated as an active and stable HER catalyst, even in the form of bulky particles. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Previous research has revealed that the coupling of Mo 2 C particles with nanocarbons is an excellent strategy for improving the HER activity, 8,9,[14][15][16] because of the following reasons: (1) carbon supports create a resistanceless path for rapid electron transfer and also effectively inhibit Mo 2 C nanoparticle aggregation; (2) coupling conjugation can downshift the d-band center of molybdenum by inducing a charge transfer from molybdenum to carbon, thus achieving a relatively moderate Mo-H bond strength for enhanced H desorption. 8,15 In particular, if the carbon supports are electrochemically active N-doped nanocarbons, their synergistic effects become more significant.…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13] Previous research has revealed that the coupling of Mo 2 C particles with nanocarbons is an excellent strategy for improving the HER activity, 8,9,[14][15][16] because of the following reasons: (1) carbon supports create a resistanceless path for rapid electron transfer and also effectively inhibit Mo 2 C nanoparticle aggregation; (2) coupling conjugation can downshift the d-band center of molybdenum by inducing a charge transfer from molybdenum to carbon, thus achieving a relatively moderate Mo-H bond strength for enhanced H desorption. 8,15 In particular, if the carbon supports are electrochemically active N-doped nanocarbons, their synergistic effects become more significant. [17][18][19] However, most of the methods reported for preparing Mo 2 C/nanocarbon electrocatalysts inevitably involve complex or dangerous synthetic procedures and expensive precursors, therefore hampering their practical applications.…”

Synthesis of Mo-based nanostructures from organic-inorganic hybrid with enhanced electrochemical for water splitting

“…Tang's group reported that nanoporous Mo 2 C can be obtained by thermal decomposition process under an inert atmosphere, which was used as a very effective electrocatalyst for generating hydrogen from water [25,26]. In addition, Sasaki's group demonstrated that small Mo 2 C nanoparticles loaded on carbon nanotubes showed highly active and durable electrocatalyst for HER [27]. Evidently, these results suggest that Mo 2 C can be used as an effective electrocatalyst for water splitting.…”