2D early transition metal carbide and nitride MXenes have intriguing properties for electrochemical energy storage and electrocatalysis. These properties can be manipulated by modifying the basal plane chemistry. Here, mixed transition metal nitride MXenes, M‐Ti4N3Tx(M = V, Cr, Mo, or Mn; Tx= O and/or OH), are developed by modifying pristine exfoliated Ti4N3TxMXene with V, Cr, Mo, and Mn salts using a simple solution‐based method. The resulting mixed transition metal nitride MXenes contain 6–51% metal loading (cf. Ti) that exhibit rich electrochemistry including highly tunable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalytic activity in a 0.5
Abundant transition metal borides are emerging as substitute electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts for noble metals. Herein, an unusual canonic‐like behavior of the
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10456190
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 28
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract m H2SO4electrolyte as follows: V‐Ti4N3Tx> Cr‐Ti4N3Tx> Mo‐Ti4N3Tx> Mn‐Ti4N3Tx> pristine Ti4N3Txwith overpotentials as low as 330 mV at −10 mA cm−2with a charge‐transfer resistance of 70 Ω. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) reveals the electrochemical activity of individual MXene flakes. The SECM data corroborate the bulk HER activity trend for M‐Ti4N3Txas well as provide the first experimental evidence that HER results from catalysis on the MXene basal plane. These electrocatalytic results demonstrate a new pathway to tune the electrochemical properties of MXenes for water splitting and related electrochemical applications. -
more » « less
Abstract Transition‐metal borides (TMBs) have recently attracted attention as excellent hydrogen evolution (HER) electrocatalysts in bulk crystalline materials. Herein, we show for the first time that VB and V3B4have high electrocatalytic HER activity. Furthermore, we show that the HER activity (in 0.5
m H2SO4) increases with increasing boron chain condensation in vanadium borides: Using a −23 mV overpotential decrement derived from −0.296 mV (for VB at −10 mA cm−2current density) and −0.273 mV (for V3B4) we accurately predict the overpotential of VB2(−0.204 mV) as well as that of unstudied V2B3(−0.250 mV) and hypothetical “V5B8” (−0.227 mV). We then derived an exponential equation that predicts the overpotentials of known and hypothetical Vx By phases containing at least a boron chain. These results provide a direct correlation between crystal structure and HER activity, thus paving the way for the design of even better electrocatalytic materials through structure–activity relationships. -
more » « less
Abstract Transition‐metal borides (TMBs) have recently attracted attention as excellent hydrogen evolution (HER) electrocatalysts in bulk crystalline materials. Herein, we show for the first time that VB and V3B4have high electrocatalytic HER activity. Furthermore, we show that the HER activity (in 0.5
m H2SO4) increases with increasing boron chain condensation in vanadium borides: Using a −23 mV overpotential decrement derived from −0.296 mV (for VB at −10 mA cm−2current density) and −0.273 mV (for V3B4) we accurately predict the overpotential of VB2(−0.204 mV) as well as that of unstudied V2B3(−0.250 mV) and hypothetical “V5B8” (−0.227 mV). We then derived an exponential equation that predicts the overpotentials of known and hypothetical Vx By phases containing at least a boron chain. These results provide a direct correlation between crystal structure and HER activity, thus paving the way for the design of even better electrocatalytic materials through structure–activity relationships. -
more » « less
Abstract Solid‐state electrocatalysis plays a crucial role in the development of renewable energy to reshape current and future energy needs. However, finding an inexpensive and highly active catalyst to replace precious metals remains a big challenge for this technology. Here, tri‐molybdenum phosphide (Mo3P) is found as a promising nonprecious metal and earth‐abundant candidate with outstanding catalytic properties that can be used for electrocatalytic processes. The catalytic performance of Mo3P nanoparticles is tested in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The results indicate an onset potential of as low as 21 mV, H2formation rate, and exchange current density of 214.7 µmol s−1g−1cat(at only 100 mV overpotential) and 279.07 µA cm−2, respectively, which are among the closest values yet observed to platinum. Combined atomic‐scale characterizations and computational studies confirm that high density of molybdenum (Mo) active sites at the surface with superior intrinsic electronic properties are mainly responsible for the remarkable HER performance. The density functional theory calculation results also confirm that the exceptional performance of Mo3P is due to neutral Gibbs free energy (Δ
G H*) of the hydrogen (H) adsorption at above 1/2 monolayer (ML) coverage of the (110) surface, exceeding the performance of existing non‐noble metal catalysts for HER. -
more » « less
Abstract Using molten‐salt synthetic techniques, NaNbO3(Space group
Pbcm ; No. 57) was prepared in high purity at a reaction time of 12 hours and a temperature of 900°C. All NaNbO3products were prepared from stoichiometric ratios of Nb2O5and Na2CO3together with the addition of a salt flux introduced at a 10:1 molar ratio of salt to NaNbO3, that is, using the Na2SO4, NaF, NaCl, and NaBr salts. A solid‐state synthesis was performed in the absence of a molten salt to serve as a control. The reaction products were all found to be phase pure through powder X‐ray diffraction, for example, with refined lattice constants ofa = 5.512(5) Å,b = 5.567(3) Å, andc = 15.516(8) Å from the Na2SO4salt reaction. The products were characterized using UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to have a bandgap size of ~3.5 eV. The particles sizes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to be dependent upon the flux type used, from ~<1 μm to >10 μm in length, with overall surface areas that could be varied from 0.66 m2/g (for NaF) to 1.55 m2/g (for NaBr). Cubic‐shaped particle morphologies were observed for the metal halide salts with the set of exposed (100)/(010)/(001) crystal facets, while a truncated octahedral morphology formed in the sodium sulfate salt reaction with predominantly the set of (110)/(101)/(011) crystal facets. The products were found to be photocatalytically active for hydrogen production under UV‐Vis irradiation, with the aid of a 1 wt% Pt surface cocatalyst. The platinized NaNbO3particles were suspended in an aqueous 20% methanol solution and irradiated by UV‐Vis light (λ > 230 nm). After 6 hours of irradiation, the average total hydrogen production varied with the particle morphologies and sizes, with 753 µmol for Na2SO4, 334 µmol for NaF, 290 µmol for NaCl, 81 µmol for NaBr, and 249 µmol for the solid‐state synthesized NaNbO3. These trends show a clear relationship to particle sizes, with smaller particles showing higher photocatalytic activity in the order of NaF > NaCl > NaBr. Furthermore, the particle morphologies obtained from the Na2SO4flux showed even higher photocatalytic activity, though having a relatively similar overall surface area, owing to the higher activity of the (110) crystal facets. The apparent quantum yield (100 mW/cm2,λ = 230 to 350 nm, pH = 7) was measured to be 3.7% for NaNbO3prepared using the NaF flux, but this was doubled to 6.8% when prepared using the Na2SO4flux. Thus, these results demonstrate the powerful utility of flux synthetic techniques to control particle sizes and to expose higher‐activity crystal facets to boost their photocatalytic activities for molecular hydrogen production.
