Issue 36, 2024

Synthesis of two-dimensional N-terminated molybdenum carbides using an alloying strategy in molten salt

Abstract

Molybdenum carbide (Mo2CTx) has an electronic structure similar to that of platinum, thereby making it a promising non-precious-metal catalyst. However, preparing Mo2CTx efficiently and rapidly using a conventional redox method is challenging owing to the high exfoliation energy of the Mo2Ga2C precursor. In this study, a novel alloying method was developed to etch Ga rapidly from its precursor. The etching process was conducted in a LiCl–KCl molten salt containing Li3N and an iron triad element (Fe, Co, or Ni). Here, Ga formed an alloy with the iron triad element, thereby reducing the reaction energy barrier and promoting the kinetics of Ga etching. Simultaneously, adding Li3N to the molten salt created a specific N ion as a stable functional group adsorbed on the surface of Mo2C. This nitrogen functional group (–N) optimizes the electronic structure of surface molybdenum by inducing strong covalent bonds. Consequently, the synthesized N-terminated Mo2CTx demonstrates superior electrocatalytic oxygen evolution activity to conventional F-terminated Mo2CTx and commercial IrO2 in a 1 M KOH solution.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis of two-dimensional N-terminated molybdenum carbides using an alloying strategy in molten salt

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Jun 2024
Accepted
01 Aug 2024
First published
06 Aug 2024

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024,12, 24195-24202

Synthesis of two-dimensional N-terminated molybdenum carbides using an alloying strategy in molten salt

W. Jiang, Z. Gao, M. Shen, R. Tang, J. Zhou, C. Wu, L. Zhang and J. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 24195 DOI: 10.1039/D4TA03999H

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