O-coordinated W-Mo dual-atom catalyst for pH-universal electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Yang Yang; Yumin Qian; Haijing Li; Zhenhua Zhang; Yuewen Mu; David Do; Bo Zhou; Jing Dong; Wenjun Yan; Yong Qin; Li Fang; Renfei Feng; Jigang Zhou; Peng Zhang; Juncai Dong; Guihua Yu; Yuanyue Liu; Xianming Zhang; Xiujun Fan

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba6586

O-coordinated W-Mo dual-atom catalyst for pH-universal electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Sci Adv. 2020 Jun 5;6(23):eaba6586. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba6586. eCollection 2020 Jun.

Authors

Yang Yang^{1

2}, Yumin Qian³, Haijing Li⁴, Zhenhua Zhang⁵, Yuewen Mu², David Do⁶, Bo Zhou⁷, Jing Dong¹, Wenjun Yan⁸, Yong Qin⁸, Li Fang⁹, Renfei Feng¹⁰, Jigang Zhou¹⁰, Peng Zhang⁶, Juncai Dong⁴, Guihua Yu³, Yuanyue Liu³, Xianming Zhang^{1

11}, Xiujun Fan^{1

11}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Crystalline Materials, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
² Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
³ Texas Materials Institute and Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁴ Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ Innovative Center for Advanced Materials, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
⁷ Institute of Microstructure and Properties of Advanced Materials, Beijing University of Technology, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100124, China.
⁸ Analytical Instrumentation Center, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China.
⁹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
¹⁰ Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK S7N2V3, Canada.
¹¹ School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, Shanxi 041001, China.

Abstract

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) maximize the utility efficiency of metal atoms and offer great potential for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Bimetal atom catalysts are an appealing strategy in virtue of the synergistic interaction of neighboring metal atoms, which can further improve the intrinsic HER activity beyond SACs. However, the rational design of these systems remains conceptually challenging and requires in-depth research both experimentally and theoretically. Here, we develop a dual-atom catalyst (DAC) consisting of O-coordinated W-Mo heterodimer embedded in N-doped graphene (W₁Mo₁-NG), which is synthesized by controllable self-assembly and nitridation processes. In W₁Mo₁-NG, the O-bridged W-Mo atoms are anchored in NG vacancies through oxygen atoms with W─O─Mo─O─C configuration, resulting in stable and finely distribution. The W₁Mo₁-NG DAC enables Pt-like activity and ultrahigh stability for HER in pH-universal electrolyte. The electron delocalization of W─O─Mo─O─C configuration provides optimal adsorption strength of H and boosts the HER kinetics, thereby notably promoting the intrinsic activity.

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