Highly Efficient, Biochar‐Derived Molybdenum Carbide Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst

Abstract

The establishment of an economic means of hydrogen production by electrochemical water‐splitting can help alleviate the intermittency problem associated with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and also provide for the extensive commercialization of fuel cell technologies. To enable this, cheap, active, and stable hydrogen evolution catalysts that can replace precious metal catalysts such as Pt must be developed. Herein, a scalable synthesis of porous Mo2C nanostructures derived from biochar, an inexpensive plant byproduct, is reported. The Mo2C catalyst materials prepared using this solid‐state method, loaded on planar substrates, require overpotentials of only 35 and 60 mV to drive current densities of −10 and −100 mA cm−2 in 0.50 m H2SO4 solution and exhibit stable operation for >100 h at operating current densities of −10 and −100 mA cm−2.

Electrocatalyst engineering and structure-activity relationship in hydrogen evolution reaction: From nanostructures to single atoms

“…Wu et al [82] prepared mesoporous molybdenum carbide (MoC x ) nano-octahedrons composed of ultrafine nanocrystallites, which exhibit remarkable HER electrocatalytic performances in both acid and alkali. Humagain et al [83]…”

Precious‐Metal‐Free Electrocatalysts for Activation of Hydrogen Evolution with Nonmetallic Electron Donor: Chemical Composition Controllable Phosphorous Doped Vanadium Carbide MXene

“…Over past few years, many possible alternatives such as 2D materials (heteroatom‐doped graphene and MoS 2 ) and transition metal nonoxides (sulfides, carbides, nitrides, and phosphides) have been synthesized to replace the Pt‐based electrocatalysts, because of their d‐band states similar to Pt . However, except for a few cases, the true electrocatalytic performance of these alternatives is still far from what is needed for industrial applications.…”

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

“…Hence, developing HER catalysts with high activity in alkaline medium toward water electrolysis is of high importance . Among the current non‐noble metal catalysts working efficiently in alkaline media, molybdenum (Mo)‐based compounds, such as MoC x , MoN x , and MoP x , have shown promising catalytic activity and stability. To further enhance the HER activity of these Mo‐based materials, it is desired to synergistically increase the intrinsic activity and stability of Mo catalytic sites (e.g.…”