Issue 14, 2022, Issue in Progress

MWCNT-modified MXene as cost-effective efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting

Abstract

Utilization of cost-effective, bifunctional, and efficient electrocatalysts for complete water splitting is desirable for sustainable clean hydrogen energy. In last decade, MXenes, a family of emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique physiochemical properties, enticed scientists because of their use in different applications. However, insufficient electron transport, lower intrinsic chemical activity and limited active site densities are the factors inhibiting their use in electrocatalytic cells for hydrogen production. Here, we have presented material design to address this issue and introduced carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on V2CTx MXene sheets for conductive network channels that enhance the ion diffusion for enhanced electrochemical activity. The SEM reveals the uniform dispersion of the MWCNTs over the MXene surface that resulted in the formation of conductive network channels and enhances reaction kinetics. The as-synthesized electrocatalyst was subjected to linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) measurements for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The hybrid catalyst M2 exhibited an enhanced HER activity with a lower over-potential of 27 mV which is comparable to commercially available Pt-based catalysts (32 mV). Similarly, an enhanced OER activity was observed with a lower over-potential of 469 mV as compared to pristine V2CTx MXene. The electrocatalyst was subjected to a durability test through chronoamperometry and was observed to be stable for 16 hours. Hence, this study opens a new avenue for future cost-effective efficient catalysts for overall water splitting as a solution to produce clean hydrogen.

Graphical abstract: MWCNT-modified MXene as cost-effective efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Feb 2022
Accepted
08 Mar 2022
First published
16 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2022,12, 8405-8413

MWCNT-modified MXene as cost-effective efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting

S. A. Zahra and S. Rizwan, RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 8405 DOI: 10.1039/D2RA00868H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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