Metal-organic framework-derived integrated nanoarrays for overall water splitting

Earth-abundant electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in a wide pH range are highly desirable for sustainable energy conversion technologies, but challenging to develop. Herein, we report hollow CoP nanosphere-embedded carbon nanotube/nitr...

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Published in:Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2018, Vol.6 (19), p.99-918
Main Authors: Guan, Cao, Wu, Haijun, Ren, Weina, Yang, Chunhai, Liu, Ximeng, Ouyang, Xiaofang, Song, Zeyi, Zhang, Yuzhong, Pennycook, Stephen J, Cheng, Chuanwei, Wang, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Catalysis
Catalysts
Coating effects
Electrocatalysts
Electrodes
Energy conversion
Hydrogen evolution reactions
Kirkendall effect
Metals
Nanospheres
Noble metals
Oxygen evolution reactions
pH effects
Renewable energy
Sulfuric acid
Sustainability
Water splitting
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Summary:Earth-abundant electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in a wide pH range are highly desirable for sustainable energy conversion technologies, but challenging to develop. Herein, we report hollow CoP nanosphere-embedded carbon nanotube/nitrogen-doped carbon (NC-CNT/CoP) nanoarrays, in which a nanoscale Kirkendall effect generates few-layer graphene-coated hollow CoP nanospheres with abundant active sites. The integrated NC-CNT/CoP electrode behaves as an efficient pH-universal HER catalyst and, through in situ transformation, the derived materials show excellent OER performance. The NC-CNT/CoP-based electrolyzers achieve a current density of 10 mA cm −2 at low voltages of 1.63, 1.69, and 1.66 V in KOH, PBS, and H 2 SO 4 , respectively, which are similar to the values obtained using noble metal catalysts. Importantly, the integrated electrode exhibits superior stability than that of the benchmark noble metals in a wide pH range. This work presents a promising method for achieving nonprecious catalysts for efficient energy conversion. A unique integrated hollow CoP nanospheres embedded carbon nanoarrays has been facilely synthesized from a metal-organic framework precursor, and behaves as a pH-versatile catalyst for both hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions.
ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/c8ta02528b