Self-supported system of MoO2@Ni2P heterostructures as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions in alkaline media

Zhiqiang Zhang; Xiaofeng Lin; Shuli Tang; Haijiao Xie; Qitong Huang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.041

Self-supported system of MoO₂@Ni₂P heterostructures as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions in alkaline media

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jan 15;630(Pt A):494-501. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.041. Epub 2022 Oct 17.

Authors

Zhiqiang Zhang¹, Xiaofeng Lin², Shuli Tang³, Haijiao Xie⁴, Qitong Huang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biofabrication in Tissue Engineering of Jiangxi Province, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Sensors of Ganzhou, School of Medical and Information Engineering, Scientific Research Center, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, PR China.
² Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biofabrication in Tissue Engineering of Jiangxi Province, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Sensors of Ganzhou, School of Medical and Information Engineering, Scientific Research Center, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, PR China. Electronic address: Linxf@gmu.edu.cn.
³ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Environment, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, PR China.
⁴ Hangzhou Yanqu Information Technology Co., Ltd., Y2, 2nd Floor, Building 2, Xixi Legu Creative Pioneering Park, No. 712 Wen'er West Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310003, PR China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biofabrication in Tissue Engineering of Jiangxi Province, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Sensors of Ganzhou, School of Medical and Information Engineering, Scientific Research Center, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, PR China. Electronic address: hqt@gmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36265350
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.041

Abstract

Efficient, stable and low-cost catalysts are essential for improving the efficiency of hydrogen evolution reactions. Herein, the MoO₂@Ni₂P heterostructure electrocatalyst was synthesized in a self-supported system on a carbon paper (CP) by two-step deposition and phosphorization at low temperature. The self-supported nanoarray structure makes the catalyst to effectively and efficiently transfer electrons and exposes more of its active sites. Moreover, the strong interaction between Ni₂P and MoO₂ helps to effectively optimize the electronic structure. The density of states calculations demonstrate that there is an increase in the density of electronic states near the MoO₂/Ni₂P Fermi level. This shows that MoO₂/Ni₂P has fast charge transfer kinetics. MoO₂ modulates the d-band center of nickel, resulting in moderate adsorption/desorption of hydrogen. The above results show that MoO₂@Ni₂P has good hydrogen evolution activity. The experimental results show that the overpotential (η₁₀) of MoO₂@Ni₂P/CP in the alkaline environment is only 57 mV with a Tafel slope of 61 mV dec^-1. It is similar to the commercial noble-metal catalysts and outperforms most reported catalysts.

Keywords: Coupling effect; DFT calculation; Hydrogen evolution reaction; MoO(2)@Ni(2)P/CP heterostructures.