An Efficient and Stable MXene-Immobilized, Cobalt-Based Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

• Published in: Metals (Basel ) Vol. 14; no. 8; p. 922
• Main Authors: Guo, Wei, Wang, Buxiang, Shu, Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2024
• Subjects: alkaline media; Carbon; Carrier density; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Clean energy; Clean technology; Co/Co3O4; Cobalt; Cobalt oxides; Decomposition (Chemistry); Deionization; Efficiency; electrocatalysis; Electrocatalysts; Electron transfer; Energy consumption; Graphene; Greenhouse gases; Hydrogen; Hydrogen as fuel; hydrogen evolution reaction; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen production; Metal oxides; Morphology; Precious metals; Production processes; Ti3C2Tx; China
• ISSN: 2075-4701; 2075-4701
• DOI: 10.3390/met14080922

Hydrogen (H[sub.2]) is considered to be the best carbon-free energy carrier that can replace fossil fuels because of its high energy density and the advantages of not producing greenhouse gases and air pollutants. As a green and sustainable method for hydrogen production, the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has received widespread attention. Currently, it is a great challenge to prepare economically stable electrocatalysts for the HER using non-precious metals. In this study, a Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4]/Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx catalyst was synthesized by supporting Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4] with Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx. The results show that Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4]/Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx has excellent HER activity and durability in 1 mol L[sup.−1] KOH, and the overpotential and Tafel slope at 10 mA·cm[sup.−2] were 87 mV and 61.90 mV dec[sup.−1], respectively. The excellent HER activity and stability of Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4]/Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx can be explained as follows: Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx provides a stable skeleton and a large number of attachment sites for Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4], thus exposing more active sites; the unique two-dimensional structure of Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx provides an efficient conductive network for rapid electron transfer between the electrolyte and the catalyst during electrocatalysis; Co[sub.3]O[sub.4] makes the Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4]/Ti[sub.3]C[sub.2]Tx catalyst more hydrophilic, which can accelerate the release rate of bubbles; Co/Co[sub.3]O[sub.4] can accelerate the adsorption and deionization of H[sub.2]O to synthesize H[sub.2]. This study provides a new approach for the design and preparation of low-cost and high-performance HER catalysts.