Janus (Mo/ β-Mo2C)@C heterostructure as an efficient electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline media

Weiwei Zhu; Zhongya Jiang; Xiang Peng; Zhaorong Li; Abebe Reda Woldu; Fushen Lu; Yiwen Fang; Paul K Chu; Liangsheng Hu

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/ac9fdc

Janus (Mo/ β-Mo₂C)@C heterostructure as an efficient electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline media

Nanotechnology. 2022 Nov 17;34(5). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac9fdc.

Authors

Weiwei Zhu^{1

2}, Zhongya Jiang¹, Xiang Peng³, Zhaorong Li², Abebe Reda Woldu^{2

4}, Fushen Lu², Yiwen Fang², Paul K Chu⁵, Liangsheng Hu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shantou University, Guangdong, 515063, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Chemistry and Key Laboratory for Preparation and Application of Ordered Structural Materials of Guangdong Province, Shantou University, Guangdong, 515063, People's Republic of China.
³ Hubei Key Laboratory of Plasma Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Optoelectronic and New Energy Materials, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430205, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar 79, Ethiopia.
⁵ Department of Physics, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 36327458
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac9fdc

Abstract

To explore low-cost, high-efficiency, and noble-metal-free catalysts for electrocatalytic water splitting in both acidic and alkaline media, the metal-metal carbide Janus hierarchical structure comprising Mo andβ-Mo₂C embedded on a carbon layer (Mo/β-Mo₂C)@C is synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction and subsequent low-temperature magnesium thermic process. Systematic characterization by XRD, XPS, Raman scattering, and SEM/TEM reveals the successful formation of metallic Mo andβ-Mo₂C nanoparticles. The synthesized (Mo/β-Mo₂C)@C has a large specific surface area and boasts highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction activity including low overpotentials of 152 and 171 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2and small Tafel slopes of 51.7 and 63.5 mV dec^-1in acidic and alkaline media, respectively. In addition, the catalyst shows outstanding stability for 48 h in both acidic and alkaline media. The excellent catalytic activity originates from more active sites and greater electron conductivity bestowed by the carbon layer, which also improves the long-term stability in both acidic and alkaline solutions.

Keywords: electrocatalyst; hydrogen evolution reaction; janus (Mo/β-Mo2C)@C heterojunction; magnesium thermic reaction.