Zhang Xuan, Li Yu-An, Huang Yaozhen, Mu Haiqiang, Gu Xiaofeng, Li Feng, Wang Zheng, Li Jing
State Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
Front Chem. 2022 Feb 1;9:828964. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.828964. eCollection 2021.
Cobalt-nitride-carbide (Co-N-C) catalysts are promising cost-efficient transition metal catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, but few works investigate the metal-support interaction (MSI) effect on hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Herein, efficient Co-N-C catalysts with controllable MSI between encapsulated Co nanoparticles and nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon nanosheets were synthesized via a facile organic-inorganic hybridization method. Results demonstrate that the Co-N-C catalyst with the coexistence of single-atom Co sites and Co nanoparticles prepared by 0.025 M cobalt nitrate shows excellent HER performance, achieving a low overpotential of 145 mV to reach 10 mA cm in 0.5 M sulfuric acid, which is mainly because the optimal MSI, which leads to a moderate hydrogen adsorption energy and improved electroactive sites, not only facilitates the charge transfer to improve the HER kinetics, but also improves the durability of the catalyst by Co-N bond anchoring and encapsulation of active Co species. This work provides guidance to further reveal the influence of MSI on their catalytic activity.
氮化钴碳化物（Co-N-C）催化剂是用于电催化析氢的很有前景的低成本过渡金属催化剂，但很少有研究探讨金属-载体相互作用（MSI）对析氢反应（HER）性能的影响。在此，通过一种简便的有机-无机杂化方法合成了在封装的Co纳米颗粒与氮掺杂石墨碳纳米片之间具有可控MSI的高效Co-N-C催化剂。结果表明，由0.025 M硝酸钴制备的同时存在单原子Co位点和Co纳米颗粒的Co-N-C催化剂表现出优异的HER性能，在0.5 M硫酸中达到10 mA cm时过电位低至145 mV，这主要是因为最佳的MSI导致适中的氢吸附能和更多的电活性位点，不仅促进了电荷转移以改善HER动力学，还通过Co-N键锚定和封装活性Co物种提高了催化剂的耐久性。这项工作为进一步揭示MSI对其催化活性的影响提供了指导。
