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Boosting Hydrogen Oxidation Activity of Ni in Alkaline Media through Oxygen‐Vacancy‐Rich CeO 2 /Ni Heterostructures
Author(s) -
Yang Fulin,
Bao Xi,
Li Peng,
Wang Xuewei,
Cheng Gongzhen,
Chen Shengli,
Luo Wei
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201908194
Subject(s) - density functional theory , electrolyte , vacancy defect , materials science , chemistry , oxygen , inorganic chemistry , heterojunction , metal , chemical engineering , electrode , computational chemistry , metallurgy , crystallography , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , engineering
The search for highly efficient platinum group metal (PGM)‐free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline electrolytes remains a great challenge in the development of alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). Here we report the synthesis of an oxygen‐vacancy‐rich CeO 2 /Ni heterostructure and its remarkable HOR performance in alkaline media. Experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate the electron transfer between CeO 2 and Ni could lead to thermoneutral adsorption free energies of H* (Δ G H* ). This, together with the promoted OH* adsorption strength derived from the abundance of oxygen vacancies in the CeO 2 species, contributes to the excellent HOR performance with the exchange current density and mass activity of 0.038 mA cm Ni −2 and 12.28 mA mg Ni −1 , respectively. This presents a new benchmark for PGM‐free alkaline HOR and opens a new avenue toward the rational design of high‐performance PGM‐free electrocatalysts for alkaline HOR.