Mo-Induced Surface Reconstruction in Ni/Co-OOH Prickly Flower Clusters for Improving the Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Seawater Splitting

Key Words:charge rearrangement, nonhomogeneous interface, prickly flower clusters, seawater splitting, surface reconstruction

Abstract:Seawater electrolysis is the most promising technology for hydrogen production, in which surface reconstruction on the interface of electrode/electrolyte plays a crucial role in activating the catalytic reactions with a low activation energy barrier. Herein, an efficient Mo modifying NiCoMo prickly flower clusters electrocatalyst supported on nickel foam (Mo-doped Ni/Co-OOH prickly flower clusters) is obtained, which serves as an eminently active and durable catalyst for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to the surface reconstruction during the alkaline seawater electrolysis with ultralow overpotentials. It just requires a cell voltage of 1.52 V to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm-2 for water electrolysis along with robust durability over 30 h. Mo doping effectively regulates the surface reconstruction of Ni/Co-OOH, which facilitates the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates on the active center, and the nonhomogeneous interface induces charge rearrangement for the catalytic process to improve efficiency, providing a new strategy for revealing the seawater electrolytic mechanism. The spherical structure of Mo-doped Ni/Co-OOH prickly flower clusters modulates the surface reconstruction of Ni/Co-OOH through Mo doping, which exhibits excellent structural stability and catalytic activity for overall water splitting in alkaline water/seawater, providing a new idea for the application of nonprecious metals in industrial hydrogen production. image

Volume:20

Issue:49

Translation or Not:no