Issue 3, 2023

Intermetallic molybdenum disilicide: a new, active, and stable cocatalyst for efficient solar hydrogen production

Abstract

The exploration of active, durable, and cost-efficient cocatalysts is pivotal for developing effective photocatalysts/systems for sustainable photocatalytic H2 production from water splitting. Herein, we report intermetallic molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) as a novel, active, and durable cocatalyst for the photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction (HER) in a dye-sensitized photocatalytic system and on semiconductor photocatalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the Mo sites are the main active sites with a near-zero Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption (ΔGH = 0.02 eV), thus endowing MoSi2 with favorable H2 evolution kinetics and a lower overpotential. When sensitized with organic xanthene dyes, e.g., Erythrosin B (ErB), MoSi2 can efficiently catalyze the photocatalytic HER with high activity and excellent cycling stability, and outperforms other Mo-based cocatalysts and transition metal disilicides. Furthermore, MoSi2 also serves as an efficient and stable cocatalyst on inorganic semiconductor photocatalysts, such as CdS and TiO2. This work demonstrates the great potential of transition metal silicides as efficient and low-cost H2 evolution cocatalysts for constructing high-performance photocatalysts/systems for solar energy conversion.

Graphical abstract: Intermetallic molybdenum disilicide: a new, active, and stable cocatalyst for efficient solar hydrogen production

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
27 ربيع الثاني 1444
Accepted
22 جمادى الأولى 1444
First published
22 جمادى الأولى 1444

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2023,7, 629-635

Intermetallic molybdenum disilicide: a new, active, and stable cocatalyst for efficient solar hydrogen production

F. Wang, W. Li, H. Pan, Z. Zhang, C. Kong and S. Min, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2023, 7, 629 DOI: 10.1039/D2SE01610A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements