Valence electronic engineering of superhydrophilic Dy-evoked Ni-MOF outperforming RuO_(2) for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Tackling the problem of poor conductivity and catalytic stability of pristine metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) is crucial to improve their oxygen evolution reaction(OER) performance.Herein,we introduce a novel strategy of dysprosium(Dy) doping,using the unique 4f orbitals of this rare earth element to enhance electrocatalytic activity of MOFs.Our method involves constructing Dy-doped Ni-MOF(Dy@Ni-MOF) nanoneedles on carbon cloth via a Dy-induced valence electronic perturbation approach.Experiments and density functional theory(DFT) calculations reveal that Dy doping can effectively modify the electronic structure of the Ni active centers and foster a strong electronic interaction between Ni and Dy.The resulting benefits include a reduced work function and a closer proximity of the d-band center to the Fermi level,which is conducive to improving electrical conductivity and promoting the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates.Furthermore,the Dy@Ni-MOF achieves superhydrophilicity,ensuring effective electrolyte contact and thus accelerating reaction kinetics,Ex-situ and in-situ analysis results manifest Dy_(2)O_(3)/NiOOH as the actual active species.Therefore,Dy@Ni-MOF shows impressive OER performance,significantly surpassing Ni-MOF.Besides,the overall water splitting device with Dy@NiMOF as an anode delivers a low cell voltage of 1.51 V at 10 mA cm^(-2) and demonstrates long-term stability for 100 h,positioning it as a promising substitute for precious metal catalysts.

Electronically modulated d-band centers of MOF-derived carbon-supported Ru/HfO_(2) for oxygen reduction and aqueous/flexible zinc-air batteries

The construction of oxide/metal composite catalysts is a competent means of exploiting the electronic interactions between oxide/metal to enhance catalytic activity.In this work,we construct a novel heterogeneous composite(Ru/HfO_(2)-NC)with Ru/HfO2nanoparticles nested in nitrogen-doped porous carbon via a zeolitic imidazole frameworks-assisted(ZIF)co-precipitation and calcination approach.In particular,ZIF guides an in-situ construction of nested configuration and confines the scattered nanoparticles.Strikingly,Ru/HfO_(2)-NC exhibits unusual ORR activity,superb durability,and methanol tolerance in0.1 M KOH solution with high half-wave potential(E1/2)of 0.83 V and follows a near-4e-reaction pathway.Additionally,the ZAB assembled with cathodic Ru/HfO_(2)-NC outputs a power density of 157.3 m W cm^(-2),a specific capacity of 775 mA h g-1Zn,and a prolonged lifespan of 258 h at 5 mA cm^(-2).Meanwhile,the catalyst has demonstrated potential applicability in flexible ZAB.As suggested by experimental results and density functional theory(DFT)analysis,the remarkable property possibly originated from the optimization of the adsorption and desorption of reactive intermediates caused by the reconfiguration of the electronic structure between Ru and HfO_(2).

Delicate surface vacancies engineering of Ru doped MOF-derived Ni-NiO@C hollow microsphere superstructure to achieve outstanding hydrogen oxidation performance

Surface vacancy defects,as the bridge between theoretical structural study and the design of heterogenous catalysts,have captured much attention.This work develops a metal-organic framework-engaged replacement-pyrolysis approach to obtain highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles immobilized on the vacancy-rich Ni-NiO@C hollow microsphere(Ru/Ni-NiO@C).Fine annealing at 400°C introduces nickel and oxygen vacancies on Ru/Ni-NiO@C surface,resulting in an improved electrical conductivity and rapid mass-charge transfer efficiency.Ru/Ni-NiO@C with a hollow micro/nanostructure and interconnected meso-porosity favors the maximal exposure of abundant active sites and elevation of hydrogen oxidation reaction(HOR)activity.Experimental results and density functional theory(DFT)calculations reveal that an electronic effect between Ru and Ni-NiO@C,in conjunction with nickel/oxygen vacancies in the NiO species could synergistically optimize hydrogen binding energy(HBE)and hydroxide binding energy(OHBE).The HBE and OHBE optimizations thus created confer Ru/Ni-NiO@C with a mass activity over 7.75 times higher than commercial Pt/C.Our work may provide a constructive route to make a breakthrough in elevating the hydrogen electrocatalytic performance.

Interface engineering of porous Fe^(2)P-WO_(2.92) catalyst with oxygen vacancies for highly active and stable large-current oxygen evolution and overall water splitting

Constructing a low cost,and high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction(OER)electrocatalyst is of great significance for improving the performance of alkaline electrolyzer,which is still suffering from highenergy consumption.Herein,we created a porous iron phosphide and tungsten oxide self-supporting electrocatalyst with oxygen-containing vacancies on foam nickel(Fe_(2)P-WO_(2.92)/NF)through a facile insitu growth,etching and phosphating strategies.The sequence-controllable strategy will not only generate oxygen vacancies and improve the charge transfer between Fe_(2)P and WO_(2.92) components,but also improve the catalyst porosity and expose more active sites.Electrochemical studies illustrate that the Fe_(2)P-WO_(2.92)/NF catalyst presents good OER activity with a low overpotential of 267 mV at 100 mA cm^(-2),a small Tafel slope of 46.3 mV dec^(-1),high electrical conductivity,and reliable stability at high current density(100 mA cm^(-2) for over 60 h in 1.0 M KOH solution).Most significantly,the operating cell voltage of Fe_(2)P-WO_(2.92)/NF‖Pt/C is as low as 1.90 V at 400 mA cm^(-2) in alkaline condition,which is one of the lowest reported in the literature.The electrocatalytic mechanism shows that the oxygen vacancies and the synergy between Fe_(2)P and WO_(2.92) can adjust the electronic structure and provide more reaction sites,thereby synergistically increasing OER activity.This work provides a feasible strategy to fabricate high-efficiency and stable non-noble metal OER electrocatalysts on the engineering interface.

Oxygen defect-rich double-layer hierarchical porous Co3O4 arrays as high-efficient oxygen evolution catalyst for overall water splitting

Construction of oxygen evolution electrocatalysts with abundant oxygen defects and large specific surface areas can significantly improve the conversion efficiency of overall water splitting.Herein,we adopt a controlled method to prepare oxygen defect-rich double-layer hierarchical porous Co3O4 arrays on nickel foam(DL-Co3O4/NF)for water splitting.The unique array-like structure,crystallinity,porosity,and chemical states have been carefully investigated through SEM,TEM,XRD,BET,and XPS techniques.The designated DL-Co3O4/NF has oxygen defects of up to 67.7%and a large BET surface area(57.4 m2g-1).Electrochemical studies show that the catalyst only requires an overpotential of 256 mV to reach 20 mA cm-2,as well as a small Tafel slope of 60.8 mV dec-1,which is far better than all control catalysts.Besides,the catalyst also demonstrates excellent overall water splitting performance in a two-electrode system and good long-term stability,far superior to most previously reported catalysts.Electrocatalytic mechanisms indicate that abundant oxygen vacancies provide more active sites and good conductivity.At the same time,the unique porous arrays facilitate electrolyte transport and gas emissions,thereby synergistically improving OER catalytic performance.

Phytic acid-derivative Co_(2)B-CoPO_x coralloidal structure with delicate boron vacancy for enhanced hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride

Application of transition metal boride(TMB) catalysts towards hydrolysis of NaBH_(4) holds great significance to help relieve the energy crisis. Herein, we present a facile and versatile metal-organic framework(MOF) assisted strategy to prepare Co_(2)B-CoPO_x with massive boron vacancies by introducing phytic acid(PA) cross-linked Co complexes that are acquired from reaction of PA and ZIF-67 into cobalt boride. The PA etching effectively breaks down the structure of ZIF-67 to create more vacancies, favoring the maximal exposure of active sites and elevation of catalytic activity. Experimental results demonstrate a drastic electronic interaction between Co and the dopant phosphorous(P), thereby the robustly electronegative P induces electron redistribution around the metal species, which facilitates the dissociation of B-H bond and the adsorption of H_(2)O molecules. The vacancy-rich Co_(2)B-CoPO_x catalyst exhibits scalable performance, characterized by a high hydrogen generation rate(HGR) of 7716.7 m L min^(-1)g^(-1) and a low activation energy(Ea) of 44.9 k J/mol, rivaling state-of-the-art catalysts. This work provides valuable insights for the development of advanced catalysts through P doping and boron vacancy engineering and the design of efficient and sustainable energy conversion systems.

Exploring the effect of Ni/Cr contents on the sheet-like NiCr-oxide-decorated CNT composites as highly active and stable catalysts for urea electrooxidation

The developing high-efficiency urea fuel cells have an irreplaceable role in solving the increasingly severe environmental crisis and energy shortages.The sluggish six-electron dynamic anodic oxidation reaction is the bottleneck of the rapid progress of urea fuel-cell technology.To tackle this challenge,we select the NiCr bimetallic system due to the unique synergic effect between the Ni and the Cr.Moreover,better conductivity is assured using carbon nanotubes(CNTs)as the support.Most importantly,we use a simple hydrothermal method in catalyst preparation for easy scale-up at a low cost.The results show that the hybrid catalysts of NiCr_(x)-oxide-CNTs with different Ni/Cr ratios show much better catalytic performance in terms of active surface area and current density as compared to that of Ni-hydro-CNTs.The optimized NiCr_(2)-oxide-CNTs catalyst exhibits not only the largest electrochemically active surface area(ESA,50.7 m^(2) g^(−1))and the highest urea electrocatalytic current density(115.6 mA cm^(−2)),but also outstanding long-term stability.The prominent performance of the NiCr_(2)-oxide-CNTs catalyst is due to the combined effect of the improved charge transfer between Ni and Cr species,the large ESA,along with an elegant balance between the oxygen-defect sites and hydrophilicity.Moreover,we have proposed a synergistically enhanced urea catalytic mechanism.

Electron-transfer enhanced MoO2-Ni heterostructures as a highly efficient pH-universal catalyst for hydrogen evolution

Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy carriers to replace fossil fuels and electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen is a very effective method.However,designing highly active and stable non-precious metal hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts that can be used in universal pH is a huge challenge.Here,we have reported a simple strategy to develop a highly active and durable non-precious MoO2-Ni electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)in a wide pH range.The MoO2-Ni catalyst exhibits a superior electrocatalytic performance with low overpotentials of 46,69,and 84 mV to reach-10 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH,0.5 M H2SO4,and 1.0 M PBS electrolytes,respectively.At the same time,the catalyst also shows outstanding stability over a wide pH range.It is particularly noted that the catalytic performance of MoO2-Ni in alkaline solution is comparable to the highest performing catalysts reported.The outstanding HER performance is mainly attributed to the collective effect of the rational morphological design,electronic structure engineering,and strong interfacial coupling between MoO2 and Ni in heterojunctions.This work provides a viable method for the synthesis of inexpensive and efficient HER electrocatalysts for the use in wide pH ranges.