%ARezaie, Amir [Materials Science and Engineering Program University of California, Riverside 92521 Riverside CA USA]%ALee, Eunsoo [Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering University of California Riverside CA 92521 USA]%AYapo, Johan [Department of Chemistry University of California, Riverside 92521 Riverside CA USA]%AFokwa, Boniface [Materials Science and Engineering Program University of California, Riverside 92521 Riverside CA USA, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering University of California Riverside CA 92521 USA, Department of Chemistry University of California, Riverside 92521 Riverside CA USA]%BJournal Name: Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research; Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 9; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2023-08-29 02:18:28
%D2021%IWiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
%JJournal Name: Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research; Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 9; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2023-08-29 02:18:28
%K
%MOSTI ID: 10236630
%PMedium: X
%THighly Active and Abundant MAB Phases Ni
n+1
ZnB
n
(
n
= 1, 2) toward Hydrogen Evolution
%X
Whilst MXenes (2D carbides and nitrides) have become highly popular in several research fields including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), unfortunately they are not competitive HER electrocatalysts in their bulk form (MAX phases). The related MAB (2D‐like bulk borides) phases and the derived 2D MBenes, however, are less studied but show better HER properties. Herein, two highly HER‐active and abundant MAB phases, Nin+1ZnBn(n = 1, 2), are studied experimentally and computationally. The pressed pellet electrodes from bulk polycrystalline powders of these phases drive a current density of 10 mA cm−2at impressive overpotentials ofη10 = −0.171 V (n = 1) andη10= −0.145 V (n = 2) to efficiently produce hydrogen. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations prove that the most active site is the hollow site on the nickel basal plane, showing a free energy value comparable to that of the hollow site of Pt (111). This study paves the way for further development of bulk and nanoscale MAB phases for clean energy applications.