Metal‐Organic Precursor–Derived Mesoporous Carbon Spheres with Homogeneously Distributed Molybdenum Carbide/Nitride Nanoparticles for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Media

Abstract

The generation of hydrogen through water electrolysis is considered as a sustainable approach for future fuel production. Molybdenum (Mo)-based compounds are reported as highly active and inexpensive alternatives to platinum-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Currently, the major challenge for Mo-based HER electrocatalysts lies in establishing new concepts of micro-/nanostructure design to enhance the hydrogen evolution kinetics and realizing facile, large-scale, and green fabrication processes. Here, a fast, scalable, and eco-friendly metal-organic coordination precursor-assisted strategy is reported for synthesizing novel hierarchically mesoporous Mo-based carbon electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen production. Benefiting from homogeneously distributed Mo-based nanocrystallites/heterojunctions and uniform mesopores, the Mo-based mesoporous electrocatalyst shows high hydrogen evolution activity and stability with a low overpotential of 222 mV at 100 mA cm −2 (Pt/C: 263 mV), ranging among the best non-noble metal HER catalysts in alkaline condition. Overall, the discovery of using dopamine-molybdate coordination precursor with silica nanoparticles will not only create a new pathway for controllable synthesis of diverse kinds of micro-/nanostructured Mo-based catalysts, but also take a step toward the fast and scale-up production of advanced mesoporous carbon electrodes for a broad range of applications.

Size‐Transformable Metal–Organic Framework–Derived Nanocarbons for Localized Chemo‐Photothermal Bacterial Ablation and Wound Disinfection

“…Recently, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been demonstrated as a new class of multifunctional nanomaterials or precursors for applications in a wide range of fields . Besides utilizing the MOFs directly to serve as nanocarriers or biocatalysts for biomedical applications, MOF‐derived nanocarbons have also presented intriguing physical and chemical properties, such as high photothermal conversion efficiency, facile doping of metal atoms, and large surface area with porous structures …”

Highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution promoted by O–Mo–C interfaces of ultrafine β-Mo2C nanostructures

“…4,5 Recently, earth-abundant transition metal carbides such as iron carbide, 6 nickel carbide, 7 tungsten carbide 8,9 and particularly molybdenum carbide (Mo 2 C) [10][11][12][13] have emerged as potential substitutes for precious metal-based materials as HER electrocatalysts. It was found that the HER activity of Mo 2 C materials can be signicantly improved by fabrication of Mo 2 Cbased heterostructures such as Mo 2 N-Mo 2 C, 14,15 MoC-Mo 2 C, 16 Ni/Mo 2 C-PC, 17 NiMo 2 C/NF, 18 Mo x C/Ni, 19 nw-W 4 Mo, 20 and others. [21][22][23][24][25][26] The high activity of these heterostructures derives from synergistic electron transfer and mass transfer phenomena.…”

Ultrathin Ti3C2Tx (MXene) Nanosheet-Wrapped NiSe2 Octahedral Crystal for Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance and Synergetic Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

“…The rare storage and high cost of these materials severely restrict their practical applications. Therefore, non-noble metal-based materials with high capacitance and low activation energy for energy storage and renewable energy are profoundly needed to replace noble metal materials [7][8][9]. Moreover, developing a material with both energy storage and conversion could not only save the cost but also facilitate its integration.…”