Ni-Decorated Molybdenum Carbide Hollow Structure Derived from Carbon-Coated Metal–Organic Framework for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

To enhance the intrinsic properties and realize novel functionalities toward desired applications, it is of great significance to construct molybdenum carbide with unique architecture but still remains highly challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a simple synthetic method. Initially, Mo-based polyoxometalate-anion-incorporated Ni-MOF (metal–organic framework) hollow structure is prepared through dissolution–regrowth process. Then, carbon-containing polymer is coated on the surface of the hollow precursor. After being annealed at high temperature, carbon-layer-coated Ni-decorated hollow molybdenum carbide structures are obtained successfully. Due to the unique composition and configuration, these hollow structures exhibit remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction properties and stabilities.

Ni Strongly Coupled with Mo2C Encapsulated in Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanofibers as Robust Bifunctional Catalyst for Overall Water Splitting

“…In this study, a facile electrospinning followed by a post-carbonization treatment to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) integrated with Ni and Mo 2 C nanoparticles (Ni/Mo 2 C-NCNFs) as water splitting electrocatalysts is developed. [17,26,[43][44][45][46] Apart from the selection of catalysts, the morphology, dimension, electronic configuration, and number of exposed active sites will also significantly affect the final catalytic performances. The optimized hybrid (Ni/Mo 2 C(1:2)-NCNFs) delivers low overpotentials of 143 mV for HER and 288 mV for OER at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 .…”

Fine Tuning Electronic Structure of Catalysts through Atomic Engineering for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution

“…[11] To overcome these disadvantages, great efforts have been devoted to developing non-noble catalysts with highly efficient and stable HER catalytic activities, [12] including alloy, [13] transition-metal (TM) borides, [14,15] carbides, [16][17][18][19][20] nitrides, [20,21] oxides, [22] phosphides, [6,[23][24][25] and sulfides. [20,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] The HER activity of Mo 2 C was first studied by Hu's group in 2012, which was convinced to be a promising catalyst for HER in both acidic and basic conditions. [20,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] The HER activity of Mo 2 C was first studied by Hu's group in 2012, which was convinced to be a promising catalyst for HER in both acidic and basic conditions.…”

Metal–polydopamine frameworks and their transformation to hollow metal/N-doped carbon particles

“…[43][44][45][46] For example, zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a subclass MOFs, are the most commonly-used precursor for carbon-based catalysts as they are rich in carbon, nitrogen and transition metal elements, which could form M-N-C active sites after carbonization to improve the catalytic performance in electrochemical catalysis. However, MOF precursors with hollow structures are quite limited, 47 especially unique morphology, such as a polyhedral MOF structure. Therefore, synthesis of diverse hollow metal/carbon structures is still a challenge and desirable for fabrication of high-performance carbon-based catalysts.…”