Atomically isolated nickel species anchored on graphitized carbon for efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis
10.1038/ncomms10667
Crossref journal-article
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Nature Communications (297)
Abstract

AbstractHydrogen production through electrochemical process is at the heart of key renewable energy technologies including water splitting and hydrogen fuel cells. Despite tremendous efforts, exploring cheap, efficient and durable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution still remains as a great challenge. Here we synthesize a nickel–carbon-based catalyst, from carbonization of metal-organic frameworks, to replace currently best-known platinum-based materials for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. This nickel-carbon-based catalyst can be activated to obtain isolated nickel atoms on the graphitic carbon support when applying electrochemical potential, exhibiting highly efficient hydrogen evolution performance with high exchange current density of 1.2 mA cm−2 and impressive durability. This work may enable new opportunities for designing and tuning properties of electrocatalysts at atomic scale for large-scale water electrolysis.

Bibliography

Fan, L., Liu, P. F., Yan, X., Gu, L., Yang, Z. Z., Yang, H. G., Qiu, S., & Yao, X. (2016). Atomically isolated nickel species anchored on graphitized carbon for efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis. Nature Communications, 7(1).

Authors 8
  1. Lili Fan (first)
  2. Peng Fei Liu (additional)
  3. Xuecheng Yan (additional)
  4. Lin Gu (additional)
  5. Zhen Zhong Yang (additional)
  6. Hua Gui Yang (additional)
  7. Shilun Qiu (additional)
  8. Xiangdong Yao (additional)
References 43 Referenced 665
  1. Walter, M. G. et al. Solar water splitting cells. Chem. Rev. 110, 6446–6473 (2010) . (10.1021/cr1002326) / Chem. Rev. by MG Walter (2010)
  2. Cook, T. R. et al. Solar energy supply and storage for the legacy and nonlegacy worlds. Chem. Rev. 110, 6474–6502 (2010) . (10.1021/cr100246c) / Chem. Rev. by TR Cook (2010)
  3. Armaroli, N. & Balzani, V. The hydrogen issue. ChemSusChem 4, 21–36 (2011) . (10.1002/cssc.201000182) / ChemSusChem by N Armaroli (2011)
  4. U.S. Energy Information Administration. The impact of increased use of hydrogen on petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide emissions http://www.eia.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/hydro/appendixc.html (2008) .
  5. U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Analysis Resource Center. Hydrogen Production, Worldwide Refinery Hydrogen, Production Capacities http://hydrogen.pnl.gov/cocoon/morf/hydrogen/article/706 (2012) .
  6. Carmo, M., Fritz, D. L., Mergel, J. & Stolten, D. A comprehensive review on PEM water electrolysis. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 38, 4901–4934 (2013) . (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.01.151) / Int. J. Hydrogen Energy by M Carmo (2013)
  7. Zou, X. & Zhang, Y. Noble metal-free hydrogen evolution catalysts for water splitting. Chem. Soc. Rev. 44, 5148–5180 (2015) . (10.1039/C4CS00448E) / Chem. Soc. Rev. by X Zou (2015)
  8. Jaramillo, T. F. et al. Identification of active edge sites for electrochemical H2 evolution from MoS2 nanocatalysts. Science 317, 100–102 (2007) . (10.1126/science.1141483) / Science by TF Jaramillo (2007)
  9. Karunadasa, H. I. et al. A molecular MoS2 edge site mimic for catalytic hydrogen generation. Science 335, 698–702 (2012) . (10.1126/science.1215868) / Science by HI Karunadasa (2012)
  10. Chen, W.-F. et al. Hydrogen-evolution catalysts based on non-noble metal nickel-molybdenum nitride nanosheets. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51, 6131–6135 (2012) . (10.1002/anie.201200699) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by W-F Chen (2012)
  11. Cao, B., Veith, G. M., Neuefeind, J. C., Adzic, R. R. & Khalifah, P. G. Mixed close packed cobalt molybdenum nitrides as non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 19186–19192 (2013) . (10.1021/ja4081056) / J. Am. Chem. Soc. by B Cao (2013)
  12. Vrubel, H. & Hu, X. Molybdenum boride and carbide catalyze hydrogen evolution in both acidic and basic solutions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51, 12703–12706 (2012) . (10.1002/anie.201207111) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by H Vrubel (2012)
  13. Xiao, P. et al. Novel molybdenum carbide-tungsten carbide composite nanowires and their electrochemical activation for efficient and stable hydrogen evolution. Adv. Funct. Mater. 25, 1520–1526 (2015) . (10.1002/adfm.201403633) / Adv. Funct. Mater. by P Xiao (2015)
  14. Popczun, E. J. et al. Nanostructured nickel phosphide as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 9267–9270 (2013) . (10.1021/ja403440e) / J. Am. Chem. Soc. by EJ Popczun (2013)
  15. Popczun, E. J., Read, C. G., Roske, C. W., Lewis, N. S. & Schaak, R. E. Highly active electrocatalysis of the hydrogen evolution reaction by cobalt phosphide nanoparticles. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 5427–5430 (2014) . (10.1002/anie.201402646) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by EJ Popczun (2014)
  16. Kibsgaard, J. & Jaramillo, T. F. Molybdenum phosphosulfide: an active, acid-stable, earth-abundant catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 14433–14437 (2014) . (10.1002/anie.201408222) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by J Kibsgaard (2014)
  17. Callejas, J. F. et al. Electrocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen production from acidic and neutral-pH aqueous solutions using iron phosphide nanoparticles. ACS Nano 8, 11101–11107 (2014) . (10.1021/nn5048553) / ACS Nano by JF Callejas (2014)
  18. Zheng, Y. et al. Hydrogen evolution by a metal-free electrocatalyst. Nat. Commun. 5, 3783 (2014) . (10.1038/ncomms4783) / Nat. Commun. by Y Zheng (2014)
  19. Ito, Y., Cong, W., Fujita, T., Tang, Z. & Chen, M. High catalytic activity of nitrogen and sulfur co-doped nanoporous graphene in the hydrogen evolution reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54, 2131–2136 (2015) . (10.1002/anie.201410050) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by Y Ito (2015)
  20. Das, R. K. et al. Extraordinary hydrogen evolution and oxidation reaction activity from carbon nanotubes and graphitic carbons. ACS Nano 8, 8447–8456 (2014) . (10.1021/nn5030225) / ACS Nano by RK Das (2014)
  21. Voiry, D. et al. Enhanced catalytic activity in strained chemically exfoliated WS2 nanosheets for hydrogen evolution. Nat. Mater. 12, 850–855 (2013) . (10.1038/nmat3700) / Nat. Mater. by D Voiry (2013)
  22. Kibsgaard, J., Chen, Z., Reinecke, B. N. & Jaramillo, T. F. Engineering the surface structure of MoS2 to preferentially expose active edge sites for electrocatalysis. Nat. Mater. 11, 963–969 (2012) . (10.1038/nmat3439) / Nat. Mater. by J Kibsgaard (2012)
  23. Cheng, L. et al. Ultrathin WS2 nanoflakes as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 7860–7863 (2014) . (10.1002/anie.201402315) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by L Cheng (2014)
  24. Li, Y. et al. MoS2 nanoparticles grown on graphene: an advanced catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 7296–7299 (2011) . (10.1021/ja201269b) / J. Am. Chem. Soc. by Y Li (2011)
  25. Yang, J. et al. Two-dimensional hybrid nanosheets of tungsten disulfide and reduced graphene oxide as catalysts for enhanced hydrogen evolution. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 13751–13754 (2013) . (10.1002/anie.201307475) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by J Yang (2013)
  26. Li, D. J. et al. Molybdenum sulfide/N-doped CNT forest hybrid catalysts for high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction. Nano Lett. 14, 1228–1233 (2014) . (10.1021/nl404108a) / Nano Lett. by DJ Li (2014)
  27. Youn, D. H. et al. Highly active and stable hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts based on molybdenum compounds on carbon nanotube–graphene hybrid support. ACS Nano 8, 5164–5173 (2014) . (10.1021/nn5012144) / ACS Nano by DH Youn (2014)
  28. Zou, X. et al. Cobalt-embedded nitrogen-rich carbon nanotubes efficiently catalyze hydrogen evolution reaction at all pH values. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 4372–4376 (2014) . (10.1002/anie.201311111) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by X Zou (2014)
  29. Deng, J. et al. Highly active and durable non-precious-metal catalyst encapsulated in carbon nanotubes for hydrogen evolution reaction. Energy Environ. Sci. 7, 1919–1923 (2014) . (10.1039/C4EE00370E) / Energy Environ. Sci. by J Deng (2014)
  30. Deng, J., Ren, P., Deng, D. & Bao, X. Enhanced electron penetration through an ultrathin graphene layer for highly efficient catalysis of the hydrogen evolution reaction. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54, 2100–2104 (2015) . (10.1002/anie.201409524) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by J Deng (2015)
  31. Vajda, S. et al. Subnanometre platinum clusters as highly active and selective catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. Nat. Mater. 8, 213–216 (2009) . (10.1038/nmat2384) / Nat. Mater. by S Vajda (2009)
  32. Lei, Y. et al. Increased silver activity for direct propylene epoxidation via subnanometer size effects. Science 328, 224–228 (2010) . (10.1126/science.1185200) / Science by Y Lei (2010)
  33. Qiao, B. et al. Single-atom catalysis of CO oxidation using Pt1/FeOx . Nat. Chem. 3, 634–641 (2011) . (10.1038/nchem.1095) / Nat. Chem. by B Qiao (2011)
  34. Kyriakou, G. et al. Isolated metal atom geometries as a strategy for selective heterogeneous hydrogenations. Science 335, 1209–1212 (2012) . (10.1126/science.1215864) / Science by G Kyriakou (2012)
  35. Yang, M. et al. Catalytically active Au-O(OH)x-species stabilized by alkali ions on zeolites and mesoporous oxides. Science 346, 1498–1501 (2014) . (10.1126/science.1260526) / Science by M Yang (2014)
  36. Hall, D. E. Electrodes for alkaline water electrolysis. J. Electrochem. Soc. 128, 740–746 (1981) . (10.1149/1.2127498) / J. Electrochem. Soc. by DE Hall (1981)
  37. Döner, A., Karcı, İ. & Kardaş, G. Effect of C-felt supported Ni, Co and NiCo catalysts to produce hydrogen. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 37, 9470–9476 (2012) . (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.03.101) / Int. J. Hydrogen Energy by A Döner (2012)
  38. Xia, W. et al. Well-defined carbon polyhedrons prepared from nano metal-organic frameworks for oxygen reduction. J. Mater. Chem. A 2, 11606–11613 (2014) . (10.1039/C4TA01656D) / J. Mater. Chem. A by W Xia (2014)
  39. Li, H. et al. XPS studies on surface electronic characteristics of Ni-B and Ni-P amorphous alloy and its correlation to their catalytic properties. Appl. Surf. Sci. 152, 25–34 (1999) . (10.1016/S0169-4332(99)00294-9) / Appl. Surf. Sci. by H Li (1999)
  40. Manders, J. R. et al. Solution-processed nickel oxide hole transport layers in high efficiency polymer photovoltaic cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 23, 2993–3001 (2013) . (10.1002/adfm.201202269) / Adv. Funct. Mater. by JR Manders (2013)
  41. Du, J., Cheng, F., Wang, S., Zhang, T. & Chen, J. M (Salen)-derived nitrogen-doped M/C (M=Fe, Co, Ni) porous nanocomposites for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction. Sci. Rep. 4, 4386 (2014) . (10.1038/srep04386) / Sci. Rep. by J Du (2014)
  42. Tang, C., Cheng, N., Pu, Z., Xing, W. & Sun, X. NiSe nanowire film supported on nickel foam: an efficient and stable 3D bifunctional electrode for full water splitting. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54, 9351–9355 (2015) . (10.1002/anie.201503407) / Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. by C Tang (2015)
  43. Carpenter, M. K., Moylan, T. E., Kukreja, R. S., Atwan, M. H. & Tessema, M. M. Solvothermal synthesis of platinum alloy nanoparticles for oxygen reduction electrocatalysis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 8535–8542 (2012) . (10.1021/ja300756y) / J. Am. Chem. Soc. by MK Carpenter (2012)
Dates
Type When
Created 9 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 10, 2016, 5:45 a.m.)
Deposited 2 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 4, 2023, 6:40 a.m.)
Indexed 6 days, 1 hour ago (Aug. 28, 2025, 8 a.m.)
Issued 9 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 10, 2016)
Published 9 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 10, 2016)
Published Online 9 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 10, 2016)
Funders 0

None

@article{Fan_2016, title={Atomically isolated nickel species anchored on graphitized carbon for efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis}, volume={7}, ISSN={2041-1723}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10667}, DOI={10.1038/ncomms10667}, number={1}, journal={Nature Communications}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Fan, Lili and Liu, Peng Fei and Yan, Xuecheng and Gu, Lin and Yang, Zhen Zhong and Yang, Hua Gui and Qiu, Shilun and Yao, Xiangdong}, year={2016}, month=feb }