In situ formed nickel tungsten oxide amorphous layer on metal-organic framework derived ZnxNi1-xWO4 surface by self-reconstruction for acid hydrogen evolution reaction

Jianpo Chen; Weidong He; Yingying Guo; Yuhang Xiao; Xiaohong Tan; Hao Cui; Chengxin Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.146

In situ formed nickel tungsten oxide amorphous layer on metal-organic framework derived Zn_xNi_1-xWO₄ surface by self-reconstruction for acid hydrogen evolution reaction

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Dec 15;652(Pt B):1347-1355. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.146. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Authors

Jianpo Chen¹, Weidong He¹, Yingying Guo¹, Yuhang Xiao¹, Xiaohong Tan¹, Hao Cui², Chengxin Wang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, The Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Chemistry & Energy Conservation of Guangdong Province, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, The Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Chemistry & Energy Conservation of Guangdong Province, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: cuihao3@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, The Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Chemistry & Energy Conservation of Guangdong Province, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: wchengx@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37666189
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.146

Abstract

Noble metal free electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acid play an important role in proton exchange membrane-based electrolysis. Here, we develop an in situ surface self-reconstruction strategy to construct excellent acidic HER catalysts. Firstly, free-standing zinc nickel tungstate nanosheets inlaid with nickel tungsten alloy nanoparticles were synthesized on carbon cloth as pre-catalyst via metal-organic framework derived method. Amorphous nickel tungsten oxide (Ni-W-O) layer is in situ formed on surface of nanosheet as actual HER active site with the dissolution of NiW alloy nanoparticles and the leaching of cations. While the morphology of the free-standing structure remains the same, keeping the maximized exposure of active sites and serving as the electron transportation framework. As a result, benefiting from disordered arrangement of atoms and the synergistic effect between Ni and W atoms, the amorphous Ni-W-O layer exhibits an excellent acidic HER activity with only an overpotential of 46 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and a quite good Tafel slope of 36.4 mV dec^-1 as well as an excellent durability. This work enlightens the exploration of surface evolution of catalysts during HER in acidic solution and employs it as a strategy for designing acidic HER catalysts.

Keywords: Amorphous structure; Free-standing structure; Hydrogen evolution reaction; In situ reconstruction; Noble metal free electrocatalysts.