Molybdenum oxide/nickel molybdenum oxide heterostructures hybridized active platinum co-catalyst toward superb-efficiency water splitting catalysis

Thi Luu Luyen Doan; Dinh Chuong Nguyen; Nikhil Komalla; Nguyen V Hieu; Lam Nguyen-Dinh; Nelson Y Dzade; Cheol Sang Kim; Chan Hee Park

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.175

Molybdenum oxide/nickel molybdenum oxide heterostructures hybridized active platinum co-catalyst toward superb-efficiency water splitting catalysis

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Sep 15:670:12-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.175. Epub 2024 Apr 25.

Authors

Thi Luu Luyen Doan¹, Dinh Chuong Nguyen², Nikhil Komalla³, Nguyen V Hieu², Lam Nguyen-Dinh⁴, Nelson Y Dzade³, Cheol Sang Kim⁵, Chan Hee Park⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, School of Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: luyen@jbnu.ac.kr.
² The University of Danang - University of Science and Education, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam.
³ Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
⁴ The University of Danang, University of Science and Technology, 54, Nguyen Luong Bang, Danang City, 550000, Viet Nam.
⁵ Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, School of Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chskim@jbnu.ac.kr.
⁶ Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, School of Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University Jeollabuk-do Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: biochan@jbnu.ac.kr.

PMID: 38749379
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.175

Abstract

A new catalyst has been developed that utilizes molybdenum oxide (MoO₃)/nickel molybdenum oxide (NiMoO₄) heterostructured nanorods coupled with Pt ultrafine nanoparticles for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) toward industrial-grade water splitting. This catalyst has been synthesized using a versatile approach and has shown to perform better than noble-metals catalysts, such as Pt/C and RuO₂, at industrial-grade current level (≥1000 mA·cm^-2). When used simultaneously as a cathode and anode, the proposed material yields 10 mA·cm^-2 at a remarkably small cell voltage of 1.55 V and has shown extraordinary durability for over 50 h. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have proved that the combination of MoO₃ and NiMoO₄ creates a metallic heterostructure with outstanding charge transfer ability. The DFT calculations have also shown that the excellent chemical coupling effect between the MoO₃/NiMoO₄ and Pt synergistically optimize the charge transfer capability and Gibbs free energies of intermediate species, leading to remarkably speeding up the reaction kinetics of water electrolysis.

Keywords: Electrocatalyst; Electronic interaction; Industrial grade current level; Pt–MoO(3)/NiMoO(4); Water splitting.