Issue 45, 2017

A nanohybrid consisting of NiPS3 nanoparticles coupled with defective graphene as a pH-universal electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution

Abstract

We report metallic NiPS3 nanoparticles decorated defective graphene (NiPS3@DG) as an efficient and durable electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at all pH values. The nanohybrids exhibited impressive low overpotentials (η10) of 73, 97, and 99 mV at −10 mA cm−2 in acidic (pH ∼ 0), neutral (pH 7) and alkaline (pH 14) electrolyte, respectively, which competes with (or even surpasses) commercial Pt/C (20 wt%) catalysts. Furthermore, the NiPS3@DG electrocatalyst displayed long-term stability and durability in a pH-universal medium as confirmed by a negligible decay in catalytic performances after 40 h of continuous working and 5000 voltammetric sweeping cycles. Theoretical calculations further revealed that the optimal free energy of the hydrogen adsorption process (which stems from a synergistic effect of S and P) provides tremendous contribution to the pH-universal HER process. The design strategy of the di-anion nanohybrid electrocatalyst highlights a new avenue for preparing cost-effective and pH-universal electrocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: A nanohybrid consisting of NiPS3 nanoparticles coupled with defective graphene as a pH-universal electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Aug 2017
Accepted
23 Oct 2017
First published
23 Oct 2017

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 23536-23542

A nanohybrid consisting of NiPS3 nanoparticles coupled with defective graphene as a pH-universal electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution

J. Zhang, R. Cui, X. Li, X. Liu and W. Huang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 23536 DOI: 10.1039/C7TA07672J

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