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Nano Research 2024, 17(4): 2546-2554 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6237-6
Research Article | Issue | Published: 14 November 2023

Cu/Mo2C synthesized through Anderson-type polyoxometalates modulate interfacial water structure to achieve hydrogen evolution at high current density

Show Author's Information Dunyuan Jin1,  Fen Qiao1( ),  Yan Zhou1,  Junfeng Wang1,  Kecheng Cao2,  Jing Yang1,  Jikang Zhao1,  Lei Zhou1,  Haitao Li1,3( )
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
School of Physical Science and Technology and Shanghai Key Laboratory of High-resolution Electron Microscopy, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Keywords:
charge transport, electrocatalytic hydrogen production, interfacial water, d band center, in situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS)
Topics:
Electrocatalysts
Cite this article:
Jin D, Qiao F, Zhou Y, et al. Cu/Mo2C synthesized through Anderson-type polyoxometalates modulate interfacial water structure to achieve hydrogen evolution at high current density. Nano Research, 2024, 17(4): 2546-2554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6237-6
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The development of efficient non-precious metal catalysts is important for the large-scale application of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we synthesized a composite catalyst of Cu and Mo2C (Cu/Mo2C) using Anderson-type polyoxometalates (POMs) synthesized by the facile soaking method as precursors. The electronic interaction between Cu and Mo2C drives the positive charge of Cu, alleviating the strong adsorption of hydrogen at the Mo site by modulating the d-band center of Mo2C. By studying the interfacial water structure using in situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS), we determined that the positively charged Cu crystals have the function of activating water molecules and optimizing the interfacial water structure. The interfacial water of Cu/Mo2C contains a large amount of free water, which could facilitate the transport of reaction intermediates. Due to activated water molecules and optimized interfacial water structure and hydrogen adsorption energy, the overpotential of Cu/Mo2C is 24 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2 and 178 mV at a current density of 1000 mA·cm−2. This work improves catalyst performance in terms of interfacial water structure optimization and deepens the understanding of water-mediated catalysis.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Cu/Mo2C synthesized through Anderson-type polyoxometalates modulate interfacial water structure to achieve hydrogen evolution at high current density

Show Author's information Dunyuan Jin1, Fen Qiao1( ), Yan Zhou1, Junfeng Wang1, Kecheng Cao2, Jing Yang1, Jikang Zhao1, Lei Zhou1, Haitao Li1,3( )
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
School of Physical Science and Technology and Shanghai Key Laboratory of High-resolution Electron Microscopy, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Abstract

The development of efficient non-precious metal catalysts is important for the large-scale application of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we synthesized a composite catalyst of Cu and Mo2C (Cu/Mo2C) using Anderson-type polyoxometalates (POMs) synthesized by the facile soaking method as precursors. The electronic interaction between Cu and Mo2C drives the positive charge of Cu, alleviating the strong adsorption of hydrogen at the Mo site by modulating the d-band center of Mo2C. By studying the interfacial water structure using in situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS), we determined that the positively charged Cu crystals have the function of activating water molecules and optimizing the interfacial water structure. The interfacial water of Cu/Mo2C contains a large amount of free water, which could facilitate the transport of reaction intermediates. Due to activated water molecules and optimized interfacial water structure and hydrogen adsorption energy, the overpotential of Cu/Mo2C is 24 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2 and 178 mV at a current density of 1000 mA·cm−2. This work improves catalyst performance in terms of interfacial water structure optimization and deepens the understanding of water-mediated catalysis.

Keywords: charge transport, electrocatalytic hydrogen production, interfacial water, d band center, in situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS)

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 28 July 2023
Revised: 19 September 2023
Accepted: 01 October 2023
Published: 14 November 2023
Issue date: April 2024

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2023

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52376060 and 51976081).

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