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Tungsten Carbide–Nitride on Graphene Nanoplatelets as a Durable Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst
Author(s) -
Chen WeiFu,
Schneider Jonathan M.,
Sasaki Kotaro,
Wang ChiuHui,
Schneider Jacob,
Iyer Shilpa,
Iyer Shweta,
Zhu Yimei,
Muckerman James T.,
Fujita Etsuko
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201402454
Subject(s) - overpotential , electrocatalyst , tungsten carbide , materials science , nitride , carbide , nanocomposite , graphene , catalysis , chemical engineering , electrolyte , water splitting , hydrogen , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , electrode , photocatalysis , layer (electronics) , engineering
Alternatives to platinum‐based catalysts are required to sustainably produce hydrogen from water at low overpotentials. Progress has been made in utilizing tungsten carbide‐based catalysts, however, their performance is currently limited by the density and reactivity of active sites, and insufficient stability in acidic electrolytes. We report highly active graphene nanoplatelet‐supported tungsten carbide–nitride nanocomposites prepared via an in situ solid‐state approach. This nanocomposite catalyzes the hydrogen evolution reaction with very low overpotential and is stable operating for at least 300 h in harsh acidic conditions. The synthetic approach offers a great advantage in terms of structural control and kinetics improvement.