Insights into N, P, S multi-doped Mo₂C/C composites as highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts.

ABSTRACT: Heteroatom doping has been proved to be an effective strategy to optimize the activity of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. Herein, we report N, P, S multi-doped Mo₂C/C composites exhibiting highly efficient HER performance in acidic solution, which are facilely fabricated via annealing of N, P, S-containing MoO _x -polyaniline (MoO _x -PANI) hybrid precursors. The optimized N, P, S multi-doped Mo₂C/C catalyst with a moderate P dopant level (NPS-Mo₂C/C-0.5) exhibits excellent performance with an overpotential of 53 mV to achieve a current density of 20 mA cm^-2, a Tafel slope of 72 mV dec^-1 and good stability in acidic electrolytes. Based on the study of XPS, EPR and ³¹P MAS NMR, the excellent electrocatalytic performance could be attributed to the effective electronic configuration modulation of both Mo₂C nanorods and the carbon matrix, derived from stronger synergistic N, P, S multi-doping coupling effects. This work provides a promising methodology for the design and fabrication of multi-doped transition metal based electrocatalysts via electronic structure engineering.

SUBMITTER: Xu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9419526 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature