Defect-Rich FeN0.023/Mo2C Heterostructure as a Highly Efficient Bifunctional Catalyst for Overall Water-Splitting

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 13; no. 7; pp. 8306 - 8314
• Main Authors: Han, NanNan, Luo, ShiWen, Deng, ChengWei, Zhu, Sheng, Xu, QunJie, Min, YuLin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 24.02.2021
• Subjects: Energy, Environmental, and Catalysis Applications; nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets; overall water-splitting; iron nitride; heterostructure; lattice defects; molybdenum carbide
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c19839

The innovation in highly efficient, stable, and economical bifunctional overall water-splitting electrocatalysts is critical in developing sustainable energy, but it remains challenging. In this research, we have developed an unsophisticated method to synthesize hybrid nanoparticles (FeN0.023/Mo2C/C) uniformly dispersed in nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets. The two active components FeN0.023 and Mo2C are coupled to form an FeN0.023/Mo2C/C heterostructure being a highly efficient electrocatalyst, which gives low overpotentials of 227/76 mV for OER/HER at 10 mA cm–2 current density. The alkaline-electrolyzer with FeN0.023/Mo2C/C as the anode–cathode catalyst needs merely 1.55 V to reach 10 mA cm–2 and can maintain a stable state for a minimum of 10 h. This research gives a simple effective resolution in designing affordable and useful overall water-splitting electrocatalysts.