Phase‐Junction Electrocatalysts towards Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

Abstract

To ensure sustainable hydrogen production by water electrolysis,robust, earth-abundant, and high-efficient electrocatalysts are required. Constructing ahybrid system could lead to further improvement in electrocatalytic activity.I nterface engineering in composite catalysts is thus critical to determine the performance,a nd the phase-junction interface should improve the catalytic activity.H ere,w es howt hat nickel diphosphide phase junction (c-NiP 2 /m-NiP 2)i sa ne ffective electrocatalyst for hydrogen production in alkaline media. The overpotential (at 10 mA cm À2)f or NiP 2-650 (c/m) in alkaline media could be significantly reduced by 26 %a nd 96 % compared with c-NiP 2 and m-NiP 2 ,respectively.The enhancement of catalytic activity should be attributed to the strong water dissociation ability and the rearrangement of electrons around the phase junction, which markedly improved the Volmer step and benefited the reduction process of adsorbed protons.

Laser ablation in air and its application in catalytic water splitting and Li-ion battery

“… The application in the fabrication of homogeneous heterojunctions. Recently, in contrast to heterojunctions that are constructed form two different materials, homogeneous heterojunctions, namely the phase junction, that are constructed from the same material with different phases have exhibited promising potential in hydrogen reaction ( Fu et al., 2021 ). LAA is ideally suitable to generate different phases and thus phase junctions.…”

Electronegativity Enhanced Strong Metal–Support Interaction in Ru@F–Ni3N for Enhanced Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

“…The Ni precursor was synthesized according to previous work . Typically, 0.582 g of Ni­(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O and 0.6 g of urea were dissolved in 40 mL of deionized water and then stirred until a clear solution was formed.…”

“…The Ni precursor was synthesized according to previous work. 60 Typically, 0.582 g of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 •6H 2 O and 0.6 g of urea were dissolved in 40 mL of deionized water and then stirred until a clear solution was formed. A piece of CC was cleaned ultrasonically with acetone, water, and ethanol separately and placed into a 50 mL Teflon-lined stainless-steel autoclave.…”

Advances in Interfacial Engineering and Their Role in Heterostructure Formation for HER Applications in Wider pH

“…The c-NiP 2 with its high electrochemical activity in alkaline media contributes to an efficient Volmer step; however, the energy band level alignment promotes electron transfer from m-NiP 2 to c-NiP 2 , increasing the electron density at the interface. 48 A brief discussion including phase interfaces from sulfides, carbides, and phosphides is elaborated in the subsequent sections below.…”

“…Song and group created a phase junction using a metallic cubic phase of NiP 2 (c-NiP 2 ) and a semiconducting monoclinic phase of NiP 2 (m-NiP 2 ) to form an electron rich high-quality interface. The c-NiP 2 with its high electrochemical activity in alkaline media contributes to an efficient Volmer step; however, the energy band level alignment promotes electron transfer from m-NiP 2 to c-NiP 2 , increasing the electron density at the interface …”