Issue 46, 2017

Salt-templated synthesis of defect-rich MoN nanosheets for boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Two-dimensional defect-rich molybdenum nitride (dr-MoN) nanosheets were successfully prepared via a NaCl template-directed synthesis route followed by an incomplete ammoniation of MoO3 nanosheets. With additional edge defects arising from the etched MoO3 compared to those in the intact MoN nanosheets, dr-MoN was capable of efficiently electro-catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under both acidic and alkaline conditions with impressive activity and durability. The dr-MoN-0 catalyst possessed an ultra-small onset overpotential of approximately 10 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte, which is competitive with that of the Pt/C catalyst. Overpotentials of only 125 mV and 139 mV are required to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for the dr-MoN-0 catalyst in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH, respectively. More importantly, the dr-MoN-0 maintained a prominent amperometric (It) durability during a 20 h test and also a superior cycling stability with negligible overpotential loss, all of which are among the best results for current MoN based HER catalysts. The exceptional performance was attributed to the defect-abundant structure which resulted in the formation of tiny cracks on the surface of the nanosheets and caused the additional exposure of active edge sites. These findings highlight the prospective potential of dr-MoN with additional active edge sites as highly efficient and stable platinum-free electrocatalysts towards the HER.

Graphical abstract: Salt-templated synthesis of defect-rich MoN nanosheets for boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Aug 2017
Accepted
22 Oct 2017
First published
24 Oct 2017

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 24193-24198

Salt-templated synthesis of defect-rich MoN nanosheets for boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

J. Xiong, W. Cai, W. Shi, X. Zhang, J. Li, Z. Yang, L. Feng and H. Cheng, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 24193 DOI: 10.1039/C7TA07566A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements