TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kim, Min Sung
AU  - Tran, Duy Thanh
AU  - Nguyen, Thanh Hai
AU  - Dinh, Van An
AU  - Kim, Nam Hoon
AU  - Lee, Joong Hee
PY  - 2022
TI  - Ni Single Atoms and Ni Phosphate Clusters Synergistically Triggered Surface-Functionalized MoS2 Nanosheets for High-performance Freshwater and Seawater Electrolysis
JO  - Energy & Environmental Materials
SN  - 2575-0348
SP  - 1340
EP  - 1349
VL  - 5
IS  - 4
AB  - Two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides have been evidenced as potential electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER); however, their application is limited by a poor oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity due to insufficient number/types of multi-integrated active sites. In this study, we report a novel bifunctional catalyst developed by simultaneous engineering of single nickel atoms (NiSA) and nickel phosphate clusters (NiPi) to synergistically trigger surface-functionalized MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) resulting in high reactivities for both HER and OER. The NiSA-NiPi/MoS2 NSs material exhibits a fairly Pt-like HER behavior with an overpotential of 94.0 mV and a small OER overpotential of 314.0 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2 in freshwater containing 1.0 M KOH. Experimental results of the catalyst are well supported by theoretical study, which reveals the significant modulation of electronic structure and enrichment of electroactive site number/types with their reasonably adjusted free adsorption energy. For evaluating practicability, the NiSA-NiPi/MoS2 NSs-based electrolyzer delivers effective operation voltage of 1.62, 1.52, and 1.66 V at 10 mA cm−2 and superior long-term stability as compared to Pt/C//RuO2 system in freshwater, mimic seawater, and natural seawater, respectively. The present study indicates that the catalyst is a promising candidate for the practical production of green hydrogen via water electrolysis.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1002/eem2.12366
DO  - 10.1002/eem2.12366