Integrated Bifunctional Electrodes Based on Amorphous Co-Ni-S Nanoflake Arrays with Atomic Dispersity of Active Sites for Overall Water Splitting

The dual active sites reconstruction on gelatin in-situ derived 3D porous N-doped carbon for efficient and stable overall water splitting

The exploration of bifunctional electrocatalysts with high activity, stability, and economy is of great significance in promoting the development of water splitting. Herein, a dual active sites heterostructure NiCoS/NC was designed to be derived in situ on 3D N-doped porous carbon (NC) using gelatin as a nitrogen and carbon source. The characterization of experiments suggests that nanoflower-like Ni2CoS4 (abbreviated as NiCoS) was randomly distributed on the NC substrate, and the sheet-like NC formed a highly open porous network structure resembling a honeycomb, which provided more accessible active sites for electrolyte ions. In addition, the special nanostructures of the catalyst materials help to promote the surface reconstruction to the real active substance NiOOH/CoOOH, and the double active sites synergistically reduce the overpotential of OER and improve its kinetics. DFT (Density-functional theory) calculations reveal the electronic coupling of NiCoS/NC in atomic orbitals, modulation of electrons by the heterointerface and N-doping, and synergistic effect of dual active sites improving the inherent catalytic activity. The NiCoS/NC composite electrocatalyst exhibited a 177 mV small OER overpotential and a 132 mV small HER overpotential with Faraday efficiencies as high as 96 % and 98 % at 10 mA cm-2 current density. In the two-electrode system, it also requires only an ultra-low voltage of 1.52 V to achieve a 10 mA cm-2 current density, and it shows excellent long-term water splitting stability. This provides a new idea for the development of transition metal-based bifunctional electrocatalysts.

Fe-induced crystalline-amorphous interface engineering of a NiMo-based heterostructure for enhanced water oxidation

Engineering heterostructures with a unique surface/interface structure is one of the effective strategies to develop highly active noble-metal-free catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), because the surface/interface of catalysts is the main site for the OER. Herein, we design a coralloid NiMo(Fe)-20 catalyst with a crystalline-amorphous interface through combining a hydrothermal method and an Fe-induced surface reconfiguration strategy. That is, after Fe3+ impregnation treatment, the Ni(OH)2-NiMoO4 pre-catalyst with a complete crystalline surface is restructured into a trimetallic heterostructure with a crystalline-amorphous interface, which facilitates mass diffusion and charge transfer during the OER. As expected, self-supported NiMo(Fe)-20 exhibits excellent electrocatalytic water oxidation performance (overpotential: η-10 = 220 mV, η-100 = 239 mV) in the alkaline electrolyte, and its electrocatalytic performance hardly changes after maintaining the current density of 50 mA cm-2 for 10 hours. Furthermore, nickel foam (NF) supported commercial Pt/C and self-supported NiMo(Fe)-20 served as the cathode and anode of the Pt/C‖NiMo(Fe)-20 electrolyzer, respectively, which exhibits a lower cell voltage (E-100 = 1.53 V) than that of the Pt/C‖RuO2 electrolyzer (E-100 = 1.58 V) assembled with noble metal-based catalysts. The enhanced electrocatalytic performance of the NiMo(Fe)-20 catalyst is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between the crystalline-amorphous interface and the coralloid trimetallic heterostructure.

Highly efficient sulfur-doped Ni3Fe electrocatalysts for overall water splitting: Rapid synthesis, mechanism and driven by sustainable energy

Designing efficient electrocatalysts and insight into their electrocatalytic mechanisms are significantly important for storing and converting the intermittent sustainable energy sources into clean hydrogen. In this study, we synthesize the bifunctional sulfur-doped Ni3Fe (NiFeS) electrocatalysts by a simple electrodeposition method only taking 30 s. After optimizing the components, it was found that the synthesized NiFeS electrocatalysts exhibit the excellent hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction performances in 1.0 M potassium hydroxide solution. The results of experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the introduced sulfur could optimize the electronic distribution, which make Ni electron-rich and Fe electron-deficient, thereby weakening the energy barriers of potential-determining steps, i.e. the absorption of H2O molecule on Ni sites for HER and formation of *OOH on Fe sites for OER, respectively. Besides, the NiFeS electrocatalysts are used as the bifunctional electrodes to water splitting, which only need 1.51 V to reach 10 mA·cm-2, and exhibits excellent durability and a >95% Faraday efficiency. Furthermore, the intermittent kinetic, wind and solar energies are used to power the assembled electrolyzer with NiFeS bi-electrodes to verify their great application potential. This work not only proved a deep insight into mechanism of the boosted electrocatalytic activities of NiFeS, but also the synthesized NiFeS electrocatalysts have great application prospect in the conversion of intermittent and sustainable energy sources into hydrogen by water electrocatalysis.

Enhancing Overall Water Splitting via Anion and Cation Synergistical Modulation in NiS Amorphous Compound

Designing and synthesizing cost-effective catalysts that exhibit excellent performance of both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a formidable task in the field of electrocatalysis. Herein, we present a Fe- and P-codoped NiS amorphous film catalyst (FeNiSP) via meticulous control over the cations and anions of metal compounds. The doped Fe and P increases active sites, reduces charge transfer resistance, and modulates electronic structures of the NiS matrix. Leveraging these advantages, the FeNiSP showcases exceptional bifunctional activities of HER and OER, with remarkably low overpotentials of only 135 and 330 mV for achieving a current density of 100 mA·cm-2 during HER and OER, respectively. Additionally, a low cell voltage of 1.56 V at 10 mA·cm-2 was achieved when it was employed as both the anode and the cathode for water splitting. Finally, density function theory calculations further elucidate that the simultaneous presence of Fe and P in the NiS amorphous film catalyst leads to a decrease in the band center of S and Ni. This consequential effect maintains a balanced adsorption/desorption of protons and strengthened the adsorption of O-based intermediates on the surface of FeNiSP, subsequently contributing to the outstanding electrocatalytic HER and OER activities.

Anchoring cobalt molybdenum nickel alloy nanoparticles on molybdenum dioxide nanosheets as efficient and stable self-supported catalyst for overall water splitting at high current density

Developing bifunctional electrocatalysts with efficient and stable catalytic performance at high current density to improve the productivity of water splitting is important for relieving the environmental pollution and energy crisis. Herein, the Ni₄Mo and Co₃Mo alloy nanoparticles were anchored on MoO₂ nanosheets (H-NMO/CMO/CF-450) by annealing the NiMoO₄/CoMoO₄/CF (CF: self-made cobalt foam) under Ar/H₂ atmosphere. Benefitting from the nanosheets structure, synergistic effect of the alloys, existence of oxygen vacancy and the cobalt foam with smaller pore sizes as conductive substrate, the self-supported H-NMO/CMO/CF-450 catalyst demonstrates outstanding electrocatalytic performance, which delivers small overpotential of 87 (270) mV at 100 (1000) mA·cm^-2 for HER and 281 (336) mV at 100 (500) mA·cm^-2 for OER in 1 M KOH. Meanwhile, the H-NMO/CMO/CF-450 catalyst is used as working electrodes for overall water splitting, which just require 1.46 V @ 10 mA·cm^-2 and 1.71 V @ 100 mA·cm^-2, respectively. More importantly, the H-NMO/CMO/CF-450 catalyst can stabilize for 300 h at 100 mA·cm^-2 in both HER and OER. This research provides an idea for the preparation of stable and efficient catalysts at high current density.

Engineering multilayer catalytic interfaces with N, S co-regulation for high performance water splitting

The rational design of hierarchical nano-heterojunction electrocatalysts with efficient and durable water splitting performance is a hot research topic in the field of sustainable energy conversion. Herein, chemical vapor deposition methods are exploited to dope N and S elements in a core-shell structured Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄ with a layered structure (N, S-Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄/NF₄₀₀). The close contact between Co₃O₄ nanowires and N, S co-doped NiMoO₄ cubic arrays facilitates electron transfer. The electronic structure of Ni, Co and Mo atoms could be optimized to enhance their electrical conductivity by modulation of N and S atoms. At current densities of 10 and 200 mA cm^-2, N, S-Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄/NF₄₀₀ has an overpotential of 200, 300 and 71 160 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction, respectively. Its water splitting voltages are 1.45 V and 2 V at 10 and 200 mA cm^-2. In addition, N, S-Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄/NF₄₀₀ can operate stably for 100 h at a current density of 50 mA cm^-2. This work provides a new approach to designing bifunctional catalysts with hierarchical heterogeneous structures co-regulated by dual elements.

NiFe Alloy Integrated with Amorphous/Crystalline NiFe Oxide as an Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions

The rational design of efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant materials is imperative for large-scale production of hydrogen by water electrolysis. Here we present a strategy to prepare highly active catalyst materials through modifying the crystallinity of the surface/interface of strongly coupled transition metal-metal oxides. We have thermally activated the catalysts to construct amorphous/crystalline Ni-Fe oxide interfaced with a conductive Ni-Fe alloy and systematically investigated their electrocatalytic performance toward the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) in alkaline solution. It was found that the Ni-Fe/oxide material with a crystalline surface oxide phase showed remarkably superior HER activity in comparison with its amorphous or poorly crystalline counterpart. In contrast, interestingly, the amorphous/poorly crystalline oxide significantly facilitated the OER activity in comparison with the more crystalline counterpart. On one hand, the higher HER activity can be ascribed to a favorable platform for water dissociation and H-H bond formation, enabled by the unique crystalline metal/oxide structure. On the other hand, the enhanced OER catalysis on the amorphous Ni-Fe oxide surfaces can be attributed to the facile activation to form the active oxyhydroxides under OER conditions. Both are explained based on density functional theory calculations. These results thus shed light onto the role of crystallinity in the HER and OER catalysis on heterostructured Ni-Fe/oxide catalysts and provide guidance for the design of new catalysts for efficient water electrolysis.

Crystalline-Amorphous Interface Coupling of Ni3S2/NiPx/NF with Enhanced Activity and Stability for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution

The rational design of highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an urgent need but remains challenging for various sustainable energy systems. How to adjust the atomic structure and electronic structure of the active center is a key bottleneck problem. Accelerating the electron transfer process and the deep self-reconstruction of active sites could be a cost-effective strategy toward electrocatalytic OER catalyst development. Here, a crystalline-amorphous (c-a) coupled Ni₃S₂/NiP_x electrocatalyst self-supported on nickel foam with an intimate interface was developed via a feasible solvothermal-electrochemistry method. The coupling interface of the crystalline structure with high conductivity and amorphous structure with numerous potential active sites could regulate the electronic structure and optimize the adsorption/desorption of O-containing species, ultimately resulting in high OER catalytic performance. The obtained Ni₃S₂/NiP_x/NF presents a low OER overpotential of 265 mV to obtain 10 mA·cm^-2 and a small Tafel slope of 51.6 mV·dec^-1. Also, the catalyst with the coupled interface exhibited significantly enhanced long-term stability compared to the other two catalysts, with <5% decay in OER activity over 20 h of continuous operation, while that of Ni₃S₂/NF and NiP_x/NF decreased by about 30 and 50%, respectively. This study provides inspiration for other energy conversion reactions in optimizing the performance of catalysts by coupling crystalline-amorphous structures.

Mild construction of an Fe-B-O based flexible electrode toward highly efficient alkaline simulated seawater splitting

It is essential to construct self-supporting electrodes based on earth-abundant iron borides in a mild and economical manner for grid-scale hydrogen production. Herein, a series of highly efficient, flexible, robust, and scalable Fe-B-O@FeB_x modified on hydrophilic cloth (denoted as Fe-B-O@FeB_x/HC, 10 cm × 10 cm) are fabricated by mild electroless plating. The overpotentials and Tafel slope values for the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions are 59 mV and 57.62 mV dec^-1 and 181 mV and 65.44 mV dec^-1, respectively; only 1.462 V is required to achieve 10 mA cm^-2 during overall water splitting (OWS). Fe-B-O@FeB_x/HC maintains its high catalytic activity for more than 7 days at an industrial current density (400 mA cm^-2), owing to the loosened popcorn-like Fe-B-O@FeB_x that is firmly loaded on a 2D-layered and mechanically robust substrate along with its fast charge and mass transfer kinetics. The chimney effect of core-shell borides@(oxyhydro)oxides enhances the OWS performance and protects the inner metal borides from further corrosion. Moreover, the flexible Fe-B-O@FeB_x/HC electrode has a low cost for grid-scale hydrogen production ($2.97 kg^-1). The proposed strategy lays a solid foundation for universal preparation, large-scale hydrogen production and practical applications thereof.

Cauliflower-like NiFe alloys anchored on a flake iron nickel carbonate hydroxide heterostructure towards superior overall water and urea electrolysis

Exploring efficient, stable and multifunctional Earth-rich electrocatalysts is vital for hydrogen generation. Hence, an efficient heterostructure consisting of cauliflower-like NiFe alloys anchored on flake iron nickel carbonate hydroxide which is supported on carbon cloth (NiFe/NiFeCH/CC) was synthesized as a trifunctional electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen production by overall water and urea splitting. While optimizing and regulating the ratio of Ni to Fe, benefiting from the special morphology and synergistic effect between the NiFe alloy and NiFeCH, the NiFe/NiFeCH/CC heterostructure exhibits outstanding oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance with a low overpotential of 190 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 after a stability test for 150 h. Notably, when the NiFe/NiFeCH/CC heterostructure is used as both the anode and cathode simultaneously, it merely requires a cell voltage of 1.49 V for the overall water splitting and 1.39 V for urea electrolysis at 10 mA cm^-2 with excellent durability. Thus, this work not just provides the application of NiFe-based catalysts in overall water splitting, but also offers a viable method for the treatment of urea-rich wastewater.

Crystalline-Amorphous Ni3S2-NiMoO4 Heterostructure for Durable Urea Electrolysis-Assisted Hydrogen Production at High Current Density

Developing bifunctional catalysts with good performance at a high current density for the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can effectively relieve the severe environmental and energy pressures. Herein, amorphous NiMoO₄ decorated Ni₃S₂ grown on nickel foam (Ni₃S₂-NiMoO₄/NF) is prepared to accelerate UOR and HER. The crystalline-amorphous heterostructure could regulate the interfacial electron structure to reduce the electron density near Ni₃S₂ for optimizing UOR and HER. The decoration of NiMoO₄ enhances its anti-poisoning ability for CO-intermediate species to show good stability at high current densities. Meanwhile, the nano-/microstructure with high hydrophilicity improves mass transfer and the accessibility of electrolyte. Driving high current densities of ±1000 mA cm^-2, it merely needs 1.38 V (UOR) and -263 mV (HER). For urea electrolysis, it can deliver 1000 mA cm^-2 at 1.73 V and stably operate at 500 mA cm^-2 for 120 h. Therefore, this study provides new ideas for durable urea electrolysis-assisted H₂ production.

NiCo2O4 nanoparticles rich in oxygen vacancies: Salt-Assisted preparation and boosted water splitting

NiCo₂O₄ is a promising catalyst toward water splitting to hydrogen. However, low conductivity and limited active sites on the surfaces hinder the practical applications of NiCo₂O₄ in water splitting. Herein, small sized NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles rich in oxygen vacancies were prepared by a simple salt-assisted method. Under the assistance of KCl, the formed NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles have abundant oxygen vacancies, which can increase surface active sites and improve charge transfer efficiency. In addition, KCl can effectively limit the growth of NiCo₂O₄, and thus reduces its size. In comparison with NiCo₂O₄ without the assistance of KCl, both the richer oxygen vacancies and the reduced nanoparticle sizes are favorable for the optimal NiCo₂O₄-2KCl to expose more active sites and increase electrochemical active surface area. As a result, it needs only the overpotentials of 129 and 304 mV to drive hydrogen and oxygen evolution at 10 mA cm⁻² in 1 M KOH, respectively. When NiCo₂O₄-2KCl is applied in a symmetrical water splitting cell, a voltage of ∼1.66 V is only required to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm⁻². This work shows that the salt-assisted method is an efficient method of developing highly active catalysts toward water splitting to hydrogen.

Bifunctional atomically dispersed ruthenium electrocatalysts for efficient bipolar membrane water electrolysis

Atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs) have recently drawn considerable interest for use in water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, because they allow for maximal utilization of metal species, particularly the expensive and...