Issue 13, 2021

Electrochemical fixation of CO2 over a Mo plate to prepare a Mo2C film for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Conversion of carbon dioxide into a hydrogen-evolution electrocatalyst is an ideal protocol to promote carbon neutrality by eliminating emissions of carbon dioxide and producing carbon-free hydrogen energy. Electrochemical fixation of carbon dioxide in molten salts by using a Mo-plate cathode and a Ni–Cr anode is herein demonstrated to produce a cathodic Mo2C film and anodic oxygen. The molten salt electrochemical method offers an efficient modulation of thickness, adhesion and more importantly, interfacial confinement between the Mo2C film and Mo. The resulting Mo2C–Mo binder-free electrode hence shows enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution, as rationalized by the lower hydrogen adsorption energy at the Mo2C–Mo interface. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide over a metal substrate is therefore a generic method integrating fixation of carbon dioxide and surface carbonization of a metal to functional films.

Graphical abstract: Electrochemical fixation of CO2 over a Mo plate to prepare a Mo2C film for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
20 Mar 2021
Accepted
01 May 2021
First published
07 May 2021

Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 4963-4969

Electrochemical fixation of CO2 over a Mo plate to prepare a Mo2C film for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

H. Xiao, H. Zhu, W. Weng, K. Li, W. Li and W. Xiao, Mater. Chem. Front., 2021, 5, 4963 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM00443C

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