Hierarchical β‐Mo₂C Nanotubes Organized by Ultrathin Nanosheets as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Production of hydrogen by electrochemical water splitting has been hindered by the high cost of precious metal catalysts, such as Pt, for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, novel hierarchical β-Mo2 C nanotubes constructed from porous nanosheets have been fabricated and investigated as a high-performance and low-cost electrocatalyst for HER. An unusual template-engaged strategy has been utilized to controllably synthesize Mo-polydopamine nanotubes, which are further converted into hierarchical β-Mo2 C nanotubes by direct carburization at high temperature. Benefitting from several structural advantages including ultrafine primary nanocrystallites, large exposed surface, fast charge transfer, and unique tubular structure, the as-prepared hierarchical β-Mo2 C nanotubes exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance for HER with small overpotential in both acidic and basic conditions, as well as remarkable stability.

Molybdenum Carbide Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes and Carbon Xerogel: Low‐Cost Cathodes for Hydrogen Production by Alkaline Water Electrolysis

“…[20] The Ta fel slope and j 0 for the HER at hierarchical Mo 2 Cn anotubes in 0.1 m KOH were 55 mV dec À1 and 8.7 10 À2 mA cm À2 ,r espectively. [18] Similarly,t he Ta fel slopea nd j 0 for the HER at porous Mo 2 C nano-octahedrons in 1 m KOH were 59 mV dec À1 and 2.9 10 À2 mA cm À2 ,r espectively. [19] For Mo 2 Cw ith incorporated Ni, Ta fel slopes in the 45-73 mV dec À1 range and j 0 values between 1.1 10 À2 and 0.27 mA cm À2 were obtained in 1 m KOH at room temperature.…”

Solvothermal access to rich nitrogen-doped molybdenum carbide nanowires as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

“…Because of Pt-like electrochemical behaviors [15], Mo-based compounds, such as Mo 2 C [16,17], MoN [18] and MoS 2 [19e23] have accumulated substantial interest as new noble-metal free electrocatalysts. Especially, Mo 2 C has been found to exhibit electrocatalytic performances for HER due to the high conductivity, similar d-band electronic density-of-state to that of Pt and optimal hydrogen-adsorption energy [24].…”

In situ synthesis of molybdenum carbide/N-doped carbon hybrids as an efficient hydrogen-evolution electrocatalyst

“…Recently, constructing various Mo 2 C nanomaterials with particular morphology such as nanowires, 16 nanosheets 17 and nanotubes 18 enhanced their HER performance owing to exposure of more active sites. Mo 2 C nanomaterials are generally obtained by the high-temperature pyrolysis of precursors containing molybdenum and carbon/organic compounds.…”