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A Novel Bimetallic Nickel–Molybdenum Carbide Nanowire Array for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution
Author(s) -
Guo Lixia,
Wang Jianying,
Teng Xue,
Liu Yangyang,
He Xiaoming,
Chen Zuofeng
Publication year - 2018
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.201801110
Subject(s) - bimetallic strip , nanowire , materials science , chemical engineering , carbide , nickel , electrocatalyst , catalysis , nanotechnology , carbon fibers , molybdenum , electrode , metal , electrochemistry , chemistry , composite number , metallurgy , composite material , organic chemistry , engineering
The design and fabrication of noble‐metal‐free hydrogenevolution electrocatalysts with high activity is significant to future renewable energy systems. In this work, self‐supported NiMo carbide nanowires on carbon cloth (Ni 3 Mo 3 C@NPC NWs/CC; NPC=N,P‐doped carbon) were developed through an electropolymerization‐assisted procedure. During the synthesis process, NiMoO 4 nanowires were first grown on CC through a hydrothermal reaction that was free of any polymer binder such as Nafion. By use of electropolymerization, the as‐prepared NiMoO 4 NWs/CC sample was then coated by a layer of polypyrole (PPy) that served as the carbon source for subsequent conversion into Ni 3 Mo 3 C@NPC NWs/CC by carbothermal reduction. The experimental results indicated that judicious choices of the amount of coated PPy and the pyrolysis temperature were essential for obtaining the pure‐phase, nanowire array structure of Ni 3 Mo 3 C@NPC NWs/CC. Benefitting from the pure phase of the bimetallic carbide, the unique architecture of the nanowire array, and its self‐supported nature, the optimized Ni 3 Mo 3 C@NPC NWs/CC electrode exhibited excellent performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline media. Low overpotentials of 161 and 215 mV were required to afford a high current density of 100 mA cm −2 toward the HER in acidic and alkaline media, respectively, and the catalytic activity was maintained for at least 48 h, which puts Ni 3 Mo 3 C@NPC NWs/CC among the best HER electrocatalysts based on metallic carbides yet reported.