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Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysis through Chemical Bonding of Transition Metal Chalcogenides on Conductive Carbons
Author(s) -
Tiwari Anand P.,
Kim Doyoung,
Kim Yongshin,
Lee Hyoyoung
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201602217
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , materials science , bifunctional , oxygen evolution , catalysis , tafel equation , tungsten carbide , electrochemistry , carbon nanotube , transition metal , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , electrode , organic chemistry , engineering
Improving the electrochemical performance of both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been of great interest in emerging renewable energy technologies. This study reports an advanced bifunctional hybrid electrocatalyst for both ORR and OER, which is composed of tungsten disulphide (WS 2 ) and carbon nanotube (CNT) connected via tungsten carbide (WC) bonding. WS 2 sheets on the surface of CNTs provide catalytic active sites for electrocatalytic activity while the CNTs act as conduction channels and provide a large surface area. Moreover, the newly formed WC crystalline structure provides an easy path for electron transfer by spin coupling and helps to solve stability issues to enable excellent electrocatalytic activity. In addition, it is found that four to five layers of WS 2 sheets on the surface of CNTs produce excellent catalytic activity toward both ORR and OER, which is comparable to noble metals (Pt, RuO 2 , etc.). These findings show the many advantages enabled by designing highly active, durable, and cost‐effective ORR and OER electrocatalysts.