Engineering micro/nanostructures of Mo2C/porous nanocarbon for enhanced hydrogen production

Abstract

As a non-noble metal material, molybdenum carbide is considered to be an electrocatalyst with the most potential for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its similar electron structure to platinum. However, its high preparation temperature easily leads to aggregations of nanoparticles (NPs) that affect the properties of Mo₂C. For this purpose, we synthesized ultrafine molybdenum carbide anchored on nanocarbon (MCC) by designing an Mo-precursor to engineer micro/nanostructures. The results show that as-prepared MCC materials consist of 3D laminated 2D lamellar structures that are self-assembled from Mo₂C NPs anchored on nanocarbon. Electrocatalytic tests indicate that the 3D/2D MCC materials exhibit excellent activity and stability in alkaline solution. Notably, a low overpotential of 123 mV is achieved to drive a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² for HER, which implies the 3D/2D structures are conducive to molecules accessing active sites, transport and diffusion, and this structural MCC has promising application as an alternative non-noble metal electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution and other catalysis.