Issue 7, 2024

Strategic Ni-doping improved electrocatalytic H2 production by Bi3O4Br in alkaline water

Abstract

Establishing a cost-effective and efficient electrocatalytic pathway for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is the key to our quest for a carbon-neutral energy landscape. We report a simple and straightforward approach to synthesize an efficient, stable, and low-cost noble metal-free Bi3O4Br electrocatalyst. Tactical doping of Ni ions into Bi3O4Br effectively enhanced the conductivity, accelerated the charge transfer process, and provided more catalytic active sites to significantly boost the alkaline electrochemical HER performance of Bi3O4Br. This Ni-doped Bi3O4Br exhibited a lower overpotential of 662 mV compared to that of Bi3O4Br (736 mV) at a higher current density (50 mA cm−2). Additionally, the HER kinetics were also enhanced in terms of Tafel slope for this doped material (159 mV dec−1) compared to the pristine Bi3O4Br (245 mV dec−1), which coincides with a significant improvement in the mass activity (52 A g−1 to 98 A g−1). Notably, the overpotential of Ni-doped Bi3O4Br was further reduced to 614 mV at the same current density of 50 mA cm−2 during photoelectrochemical HER performance testing, and the faradaic efficiency was improved from 79% to 87%. Finally, an enhanced durability of the material was observed for Bi3O4Br following the Ni-doping. Hence, this strategy highlights the importance of unravelling upgraded catalytic behaviour for abundant materials with rational doping.

Graphical abstract: Strategic Ni-doping improved electrocatalytic H2 production by Bi3O4Br in alkaline water

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 apr 2024
Accepted
24 may 2024
First published
24 may 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Energy Adv., 2024,3, 1562-1570

Strategic Ni-doping improved electrocatalytic H2 production by Bi3O4Br in alkaline water

M. Pal, R. Biswas, S. Barman and A. Dutta, Energy Adv., 2024, 3, 1562 DOI: 10.1039/D4YA00228H

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