Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (9): 1352-1359.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63406-6

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Coupled cobalt-doped molybdenum carbide@N-doped carbon nanosheets/nanotubes supported on nickel foam as a binder-free electrode for overall water splitting

Jiangnan Xinga, Fei Lina, Liutao Huanga, Yuchang Sib, Yijing Wanga, Lifang Jiaoa   

  1. a Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;
    b Logistics University of People's Armed Police Force, Tianjin 300309, China
  • Received:2019-03-31 Online:2019-09-18 Published:2019-07-06
  • Contact: S1872-2067(19)63406-6
  • Supported by:
    This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51622102, 51571124, 21421001), the 111 Project (B12015), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (18ZXJMTG00040, 16PTSYJC00030), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Abstract: In an attempt to develop low-cost, non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for water electrolysis in alkaline media, cobalt-doped molybdenum carbide@N-doped carbon nanosheets/nanotubes were fabricated by using C3N4 as the carbon source on a 3D porous nickel foam substrate. Benefiting from the optimized electronic structure and enhanced mass and charge transport, as well as the 3D conducting pathway, MoxCoy@N-CNSs/CNTs shows superior performance towards both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline medium. The optimal electrocatalyst is Mo2Co1@N-CNSs/CNTs, which reveals a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at the low overpotentials of 99 mV and 300 mV for the HER and OER, respectively, and a relatively low cell voltage (1.63 V) for the overall water electrolysis. The method of optimizing the composition and nanostructure of a material provides a new avenue for the development and utilization of high-performance electrocatalysts.

Key words: Molybdenum carbide, Cobalt doping, Self-supported electrode, Overall water splitting