Constructing three-dimensional porous Ni/Ni3S2 nano-interfaces for hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis under alkaline conditions

Yiming An; Bolong Huang; Zilong Wang; Xia Long; Yongcai Qiu; Jue Hu; Dan Zhou; He Lin; Shihe Yang

doi:10.1039/C7DT00878C

Constructing three-dimensional porous Ni/Ni₃S₂ nano-interfaces for hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis under alkaline conditions†

Yiming An,

^a Bolong Huang,

*^b Zilong Wang,^a Xia Long,^a Yongcai Qiu,^a Jue Hu,

^a Dan Zhou,^a He Lin^a and Shihe Yang

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: chsyang@ust.hk

^b Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Hum, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: bhuang@polyu.edu.hk

Abstract

It is still a challenging issue to design earth-abundant electrocatalysts with low cost, high activity and long-term stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on water splitting in alkaline solutions. Here, we report a facile synthetic route for a three-dimensional, porous Ni/Ni₃S₂ nano-network on carbon cloth for the efficient catalysis of HER. This unique structure exposes a high proportion of Ni/Ni₃S₂ hetero-interfaces to the electrolyte, creating a synergetic effect between Ni and Ni₃S₂ that enhances HER. The synergetic effect at the interface was verified by DFT calculation and involves the interface-assisted heterolytic splitting of H₂O into OH⁻ and H⁺ and the subsequent expeditious H₂-forming reaction caused by weakened binding between Ni and H induced by the neighboring Ni₃S₂. The resulting porous network shows high HER activity in alkaline media, reaching 10 mA cm⁻² at 95 mV with a Tafel slope of 66 mV dec⁻¹. This value is much smaller than that of nickel metal, which is currently used in industry.

This article is part of the themed collection: The Role of Inorganic Materials in Renewable Energy Applications

Supplementary files

Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C7DT00878C
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 10 mar 2017
Accepted: 11 mai 2017
First published: 11 mai 2017

Download Citation

Dalton Trans., 2017,46, 10700-10706

Permissions

Request permissions

Constructing three-dimensional porous Ni/Ni₃S₂ nano-interfaces for hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis under alkaline conditions

Y. An, B. Huang, Z. Wang, X. Long, Y. Qiu, J. Hu, D. Zhou, H. Lin and S. Yang, Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 10700 DOI: 10.1039/C7DT00878C

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.

Dalton Transactions