Recent applications in dielectric barrier discharge and radio frequency plasmas‐engineered transition metal electrocatalysts for water splitting

Abstract

Hydrogen generated by water electrolysis is considered as one of the most promising protocols to partly replace the roles of traditional fossil fuels. However, high‐performance electrocatalyst satisfied with the industrial requirement still faces significant challenges. Low‐temperature plasma contains numerous high‐energy ions, electrons and other reactive species, which can provide a highly reactive environment for tuning the physio‐chemical structures of catalysts through plasma milling, etching, doping and/or deposition. It is well‐known that high‐temperature micro‐filaments contained in plasmas can cause some special modifications of the catalyst surface, thus effectively adjusting the physio‐chemical structure of latterly engineered compounds. Therefore, low‐temperature plasma technologies, especially the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and radio frequency (RF) plasmas, can be considered as a green and sustainable strategy for engineering high‐performance electrocatalysts for water splitting (hydrogen evolution reaction [HER]; oxygen evolution reaction [OER]). Herein, recent progress of DBD and RF plasmas for fabricating and modifying transition metal‐based electrocatalysts (e.g. sulphide, phosphide, selenide, oxide, hydroxide) for hydrogen evolution reaction or OER is comprehensively reviewed, and the role of plasma is also discussed.

From lab to field: Prussian blue frameworks as sustainable cathode materials

“…The adsorbed water present on the surface, zeolitic water situated in the interstitial sites, and coordinated water chemically bonded to the M ions of PBAs are the three types of water found in the PBA framework. 131 Eight component cells, each of which can accommodate alkaline ions and neutral molecules such as H 2 O, comprise each PBA unit cell. The water utilized to fill the octahedral centers of the molecules is called zeolitic water.…”

Evolution of Grain Boundaries Promoted Hydrogen Production for Industrial‐Grade Current Density

“…[9] Thus, the development of highly efficient electrodes for stable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in industrial devices under normal condition has been increasingly important to further exploit clean energy in the future. [10] The emerging electrocatalysts have been applied for improved HER have been developed by optimizing the following three dominant steps: i) mass transfer (H + /OH − ) from the electrolyte to the catalysts surface [11][12][13] ; ii) electron transfer in the interfacial reactions, such as the adsorption of reactants and the desorption of the intermediates [14][15][16][17] ; iii) products diffusion of H 2 /O 2 bubble from the catalysts/electrolyte interface. [18,19] However, the large-scale industrial application of overall water splitting was still limited by the high overpotential required to drive a large current density (>500 mA cm −2 ), because of the high energy barriers for the catalytic reactions.…”