Mesoporous Hollow Cu–Ni Alloy Nanocage from Core–Shell Cu@Ni Nanocube for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

We have created a facial self-templated method to synthesize three distinct nanostructures, including the unique edge-cut Cu@Ni nanocubes, edgenotched Cu@Ni nanocubes, and mesoporous Cu−Ni nanocages by selective wet chemical etching method. Moreover, in the synthesis process, the corners of edgecut Cu@Ni nanocubes and mesoporous Cu−Ni nanocages can be etched to produce the highly catalytically active (111) facets. Impressively, compared to edge-notched Cu@Ni nanocubes and edge-cut Cu@Ni nanocubes, the Cu−Ni nanocages exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under alkaline conditions. When obtained overpotential is 140 mV, the current density can reach 10 mA cm −2 ; meanwhile, the corresponding Tafel slope is 79 mV dec −1 . Moreover, from the calculation results of density functional theory (DFT), it can be found that the reason why the activity of pure Ni is lower than that of Cu−Ni alloy is that the adsorption energy of the intermediate state (adsorbed H*) is too strong. Meanwhile the Gibbs free-energy (|ΔG H* |) of (111) facets is smaller than that of (100) facets, which brings more active sites or adsorbs more hydrogen.

Understanding the geometric and electronic factors of PtNi bimetallic surfaces for efficient and selective catalytic hydrogenation of biomass-derived oxygenates

“…Adding a second metal elemental was a feasible approach towards tuning the electronic structure of Ni-base catalysts, resulting in the bimetallic catalysts with enhanced catalytic performance. Ni-based catalysts such as Ni-Pt [26] Ni-Pd [27] Ni-Cu [28] Ni-Sn [29] and Ni-Co [30] exhibited unique properties compared with their parent metal catalysts. The catalytic performance of bimetallic catalysts (activity and selectivity) is highly dependent on its component and geometry.…”

Shaping non-noble metal nanocrystals via colloidal chemistry

“…heterostructures, multimetallic alloys, multi-cation oxides and chalcogenides), including the same elements, which are becoming increasingly popular because of the additional property tunability offered by combining domains with a different chemical nature within the same nanodomain. [92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101]…”

Interface Engineering of Co‐LDH@MOF Heterojunction in Highly Stable and Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

“…The development of an eco-friendly strategy for the production of efficient and sustainable energy could fundamentally settle the issues related to resource, energy, and environment. [1] Driven by the exploration of clean and sustainable energy, the electrochemical splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen has been considered as one of the most promising approaches. [2][3][4] Since it is a thermodynamically unfavorable process, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a key role in the process of water splitting.…”