Wang Hao, Yang Xiaowei, Bao Lihong, Zong Yuyang, Gao Yuxin, Miao Qi, Zhang Min, Ma Ruguang, Zhao Jijun
College of Physics and Electronic Information, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022, Inner Mongolia, China.
Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams, Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2025 Jan;677(Pt B):967-975. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.08.121. Epub 2024 Aug 16.
While great efforts have been made to improve the electrocatalytic activity of existing materials toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), it is also importance for searching new type of nonprecious HER catalysts to realize the practical hydrogen evolution. Herein, we firstly report nanocrystalline transition metal tetraborides (TMB, TM=W and Mo) as an efficient HER electrocatalyst has been synthesized by a single-step solid-state reaction. The optimized nanocrystalline WB exhibits an overpotential as low as 172 mV at 10 mA/cm and small Tafel slope of 63 mV/dec in 0.5 M HSO. Moreover, the nanocrystalline WB outperforms the commercial Pt/C at high current density region, confirming potential applications in industrially electrochemical water splitting. Theoretical study reveals that high intrinsic HER activity of WB is originated from its large work function that contributes to the weak hydrogen-adsorption energy. Therefore, this work provides new insights for development of robust nanocrystalline electrocatalysts for efficient HER.
尽管人们已经做出了巨大努力来提高现有材料对析氢反应（HER）的电催化活性，但寻找新型非贵金属HER催化剂以实现实际析氢也很重要。在此，我们首次报道了通过一步固态反应合成的纳米晶过渡金属硼化物（TMB，TM = W和Mo）作为一种高效的HER电催化剂。优化后的纳米晶WB在10 mA/cm²时的过电位低至172 mV，在0.5 M H₂SO₄中的塔菲尔斜率为63 mV/dec。此外，纳米晶WB在高电流密度区域优于商业Pt/C，证实了其在工业电化学水分解中的潜在应用。理论研究表明，WB的高本征HER活性源于其较大的功函数，这有助于降低氢吸附能。因此，这项工作为开发用于高效HER的稳健纳米晶电催化剂提供了新的见解。
