Activation of MoS2 Basal Planes for Hydrogen Evolution by Zinc

Heterojunction-Based Electron Donators to Stabilize and Activate Ultrafine Pt Nanoparticles for Efficient Hydrogen Atom Dissociation and Gas Evolution

Platinum (Pt) is the most effective bench-marked catalyst for producing renewable and clean hydrogen energy by electrochemical water splitting. There is demand for high HER catalytic activity to achieve efficient utilization and minimize the loading of Pt in catalysts. In this work, we significantly boost the HER mass activity of Pt nanoparticles in Pt_x /Co to 8.3 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C by using Co/NC heterojunctions as a heterogeneous version of electron donors. The highly coupled interfaces between Co/NC and Pt metal enrich the electron density of Pt nanoparticles to facilitate the adsorption of H⁺ , the dissociation of Pt-H bonds and H₂ release, giving the lowest HER overpotential of 6.9 mV vs. RHE at 10 mA cm^-2 in acid among reported HER electrocatalysts. Given the easy scale-up synthesis due to the stabilization of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles by Co/NC solid ligands, Pt_x /Co can even be a promising substitute for commercial Pt/C for practical applications.

Hierarchical Tubular Architecture Constructed by Vertically Aligned CoS2 -MoS2 Nanosheets for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for establishing a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy system, but it is still a challenging issue. Herein, hierarchical tubular-structured CoS₂ -MoS₂ /C as efficient electrocatalysts are fabricated through a unique metal-organic framework (MOF) mediated self-sacrificial templating. Core-shell structured MoO₃ @ZIF-67 nanorods are used both as a precursor and a sacrificial template to form the one-dimensional tubular heterostructure where vertically aligned two-dimensional CoS₂ -MoS₂ nanosheets are formed on the MOF-derived carbon tube. Trace amounts of noble metals (Pd, Rh, and Ru) are successfully introduced to enhance the electrocatalytic property of the CoS₂ -MoS₂ /C nanocomposites. The as-synthesized hierarchical tubular heterostructures exhibit excellent HER catalytic performance owing to the merits of the hierarchical hollow architecture with abundantly exposed edges and the uniformly dispersed active sites. Impressively, the optimal Pd-CoS₂ -MoS₂ /C-600 catalyst delivers a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at a low overpotential of 144 mV and a small Tafel slope of 59.9 mV/dec in 0.5 m H₂ SO₄ . Overall, this MOF-mediated strategy can be extended to the rational design and synthesis of other hollow heterogeneous catalysts for scalable hydrogen generation.

Amorphous-MoO3−x/MoS2 heterostructure: in situ oxidizing amorphization of S-vacancy MoS2 for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution

Amorphous-MoO_3−x/MoS₂ heterostructure prepared by in situ oxidizing amorphization of S-vacancy MoS₂ enables the acceleration of water dissociation and alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Surface Engineering of MoS2 via Laser-Induced Exfoliation in Protic Solvents

With excellent performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂ ) is considered a promising nonprecious candidate to substitute Pt-based catalysts. Herein, pulsed laser irradiation in liquid is used to realize one-step exfoliation of bulk 2H-MoS₂ to ultrastable few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets. Such prepared MoS₂ nanosheets are rich in S vacancies and metallic 1T phase, which significantly contribute to the boosted catalytic HER activity. Protic solvents play a pivotal role in the production of S vacancies and 2H-to-1T phase transition under laser irradiation. MoS₂ exfoliated in an optimal solvent of formic acid exhibits outstanding HER activity with an overpotential of 180 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 and Tafel slope of 54 mV dec^-1 .

A Critical Review on Energy Conversion and Environmental Remediation of Photocatalysts with Remodeling Crystal Lattice, Surface, and Interface

Solar energy is a renewable resource that can supply our energy needs in the long term. A semiconductor photocatalysis that is capable of utilizing solar energy has appealed to considerable interests for recent decades, owing to the ability to aim at environmental problems and produce renewal energy. Much effort has been put into the synthesis of a highly efficient semiconductor photocatalyst to promote its real application potential. Hence, we reviewed the most advanced methods and strategies in terms of (i) broadening the light absorption wavelengths, (ii) design of active reaction sites, and (iii) control of the electron-hole (e^--h⁺) recombination, while these three processes could be influenced by remodeling the crystal lattice, surface, and interface. Additionally, we individually examined their current applications in energy conversion (i.e., hydrogen evolution, CO₂ reduction, nitrogen fixation, and oriented synthesis) and environmental remediation (i.e., air purification and wastewater treatment). Overall, in this review, we particularly focused on advanced photocatalytic activity with simultaneous wastewater decontamination and energy conversion and further enriched the mechanism by proposing the electron flow and substance conversion. Finally, this review offers the prospects of semiconductor photocatalysts in the following three vital (distinct) aspects: (i) the large-scale preparation of highly efficient photocatalysts, (ii) the development of sustainable photocatalysis systems, and (iii) the optimization of the photocatalytic process for practical application.

An advanced FeCoNi nitro-sulfide hierarchical structure from deep eutectic solvents for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

A tri-metal material system of FeCoNi-based nitro-sulfide (FeCoNi-NS) hierarchical structure has been successfully synthesized via a deep eutectic solvent annealing process. The as-prepared FeCoNi-NS possesses interesting N,S-binary heteroatoms evenly doped with Fe, Co, and Ni. By taking advantage of the unique structure including multi-metal sites, high BET area and porous structures, the as-prepared FeCoNi-NS exhibited excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at an overpotential of 251 mV and a low Tafel slope of 58 mV dec^-1 in 1 M KOH. Furthermore, FeCoNi-NS also demonstrated highly efficient mass/charge transportation, long-term stability with 2% deactivation after ten hours continuous operation and high faradaic efficiency of 98%. Such a facile synthetic strategy is applicable to the fabrication of more mutil-metal hierarchical structures for energy conversion and storage.