Premium
Transition‐Metal Oxides/Carbides@Carbon Nanotube Composites as Multifunctional Electrocatalysts for Challenging Oxidations and Reductions
Author(s) -
Xing Xiaolin,
Liu Rongji,
Cao Kecheng,
Kaiser Ute,
Streb Carsten
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201901400
Subject(s) - materials science , overpotential , oxygen evolution , oxide , carbon nanotube , catalysis , carbide , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , reactivity (psychology) , transition metal , vanadium , electrolyte , aqueous solution , composite number , electrocatalyst , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
The rapid development of renewable‐energy technologies such as water splitting, rechargeable metal–air batteries, and fuel cells requires highly efficient electrocatalysts capable of the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we report a facile sonication‐driven synthesis to deposit the molecular manganese vanadium oxide precursor [Mn 4 V 4 O 17 (OAc) 3 ] 3− on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Thermal conversion of this composite at 900 °C gives nanostructured manganese vanadium oxides/carbides, which are stably linked to the MWCNTs. The resulting composites show excellent electrochemical reactivity for ORR and OER, and significant reactivity enhancements compared with the precursors and a Pt/C reference are reported. Notably, even under harsh acidic conditions, long‐term OER activity at low overpotential is reported. In addition, we report exceptional activity of the composites for the industrially important Cl 2 evolution from an aqueous HCl electrolyte. The new composite material shows how molecular deposition routes leading to highly active and stable multifunctional electrocatalysts can be developed. The facile design could in principle be extended to multiple catalyst classes by tuning of the molecular metal oxide precursor employed.