Open AccessTransition Metal‐Promoted V 2 CO 2 (MXenes): A New and Highly Active Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Author(s) -
Ling Chongyi,
Shi Li,
Ouyang Yixin,
Chen Qian,
Wang Jinlan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201600180
Subject(s) - mxenes , catalysis , hydrogen , transition metal , water splitting , hydrogen production , materials science , hydrogen fuel , vanadium , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , photocatalysis
Developing alternatives to precious Pt for hydrogen production from water splitting is central to the area of renewable energy. This work predicts extremely high catalytic activity of transition metal (Fe, Co, and Ni) promoted two‐dimensional MXenes, fully oxidized vanadium carbides (V 2 CO 2 ), for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The first‐principle calculations show that the introduction of transition metal can greatly weaken the strong binding between hydrogen and oxygen and engineer the hydrogen adsorption free energy to the optimal value ≈0 eV by choosing the suitable type and coverage of the promoters as well as the active sites. Strain engineering on the performance of transition metal promoted V 2 CO 2 further reveals that the excellent HER activities can maintain well while those poor ones can be modulated to be highly active. This study provides new possibilities for cost‐effective alternatives to Pt in HER and for the application of 2D MXenes.