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

Abstract

Molybdenum carbide (Mo 2 C) has been considered as a promising non-noble-metal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst for future clean energy devices. In this work, we report a facile, green, low-cost and scalable method for the synthesis of a Mo 2 C-based HER electrocatalyst consisting of ultrafine Mo 2 C nanoparticles embedded within bacterial cellulosederived 3D N-doped carbon nanofiber networks (Mo 2 C@N-CNFs) using 3D nanostructured biomass as a precursor. The electrocatalyst exhibits remarkable HER activity (an overpotential of 167 mV achieves 10 mA cm − 2 and a high exchange current density of 4.73 × 10 − 2 mA cm − 2 ) and excellent stability in acidic media as well as high HER activity in neutral and basic media. Further theoretical calculations indicate a strong synergistic effect between Mo 2 C nanoparticles and N-CNFs in the Mo 2 C@N-CNF catalyst, which leads to an impressive HER performance.

CoO-Mo2N hollow heterostructure for high-efficiency electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

“…Consequently, the development of nonprecious metal-based catalysts has been a topic in recent years. A variety of catalysts (sulfides, carbides and phosphides) have been successfully developed [4][5][6][7][8] . By tuning the components and microstructure, the kinetics for the HER can be largely improved, thus decreasing the overpotential 9 .…”

Surface‐Activated Amorphous Iron Borides (FexB) as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

“…The Nyquist plots of Fe–B–O@Fe x B, Fe power, and Ni foil electrodes at current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1.0 m KOH solutions show two time–constant behavior as shown in Figure f. Thus, experimental data were fitted using an equivalent circuit consisting of a series resistance R s (the ohmic resistance) in series with two parallel branches, and the second semicircle at low frequencies corresponds to the charge transfer ( R ct ) process at the cathode . The charge‐transfer resistances of Fe–B–O@Fe 2 B (22 Ω) and Fe–B–O@FeB 2 (11 Ω) are found to be lower than those of Ni foil (30 Ω) and Fe powder (27 Ω), suggesting rapid charge transfer kinetics on the Fe–B–O@Fe x B electrodes.…”

Molybdenum‐Based Carbon Hybrid Materials to Enhance the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…Furthermore, the MoSoyc omposites were supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets for further enhancement of electrocatalytic activityf or HER. Wu et al [111] fabricated ultrafine Mo 2 Cn anoparticlesa nchored in bacterial cellulose-derived 3D N-doped carbon nanofiber networks (Mo 2 C@N-CNFs) using as imple, eco-friendly,l ow-cost methodv ia as olid-state reaction between (NH 4 ) 6 Mo 7 O 24 andb acterial cellulose. Due to the favourable cost of the biomass precursor and facile preparation method, the newly developed methodi si nexpensive, easy to scale up and environmentally friendly.A ne tal.…”