Homogeneously Distributed NiFe Alloy Nanoparticles on 3D Carbon Fiber Network as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting

Graphitic Carbon Nitride-Supported Layered Double Hydroxides (GCN@FeMg-LDH) for Efficient Water Splitting and Energy Harvesting

The advancement of highly efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting, along with the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), is crucial for sustainable energy generation and harvesting. In this study, a novel hybrid composite by integrating graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) with an earth-abundant FeMg-layered double hydroxide (LDH) (GCN@FeMg-LDH) was synthesized by the hydrothermal approach. Under controlled conditions, with optimized concentrations of metal ions and GCN, the fabricated electrode, GCN@FeMg-LDH demonstrated remarkably low overpotentials of 0.018 and 0.284 V and 0.101 and 0.365 V at 10 and 600 mA/cm2 toward the hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions, respectively, in 1.0 M KOH. Furthermore, we leveraged the potential of the GCN@FeMg-LDH composite to develop a high-performance TENG suitable for practical electronic applications. The resulting GCN@FeMg-LDH-based TENG device, sized at 3 × 4 cm2, demonstrated a substantial current output of 52 μA and a voltage output of 771 V. Notably, this TENG device exhibited an instantaneous power output of 5780 μW and exceptional stability, enduring over 15 000 cycles. Thus, this study concludes that the GCN@FeMg-LDH composite emerges as a superior candidate for applications in water splitting and TENGs, exhibiting significant promise for advancing clean energy technologies, in addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Development of a free-standing flexible electrode for efficient overall water-splitting performance via electroless deposition of iron-nickel-cobalt on polyacrylonitrile-based carbon cloth

Developing cost-effective and highly efficient electrodes for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial, particularly for alkaline OER and HER. Herein, electroless plating of iron-nickel-cobalt (Fe-Ni-Co) electrocatalyst on a flexible polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon cloth (CC) was performed to synthesize a free-standing catalytic electrode for bifunctional electrocatalysts. The three-dimensional porous backbone of PAN-based CC and the synergistic effect between Fe-Ni-Co and corresponding hydroxides result in outstanding OER and HER activities, that is low overpotentials of 230 and 150 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and Tafel slopes of 63 and 57.1 mV dec-1, respectively. Additionally, a complete alkaline electrolyzer was constructed using Fe-Ni-Co plated PAN-based CC as both the cathode and anode. When operated at 10 mA cm-2, this setup enabled efficient water splitting at a low potential of 1.57 V. This study provides new opportunities for the development of advanced Fe-Ni-Co electrocatalyst with superior bifunctional OER and HER performance and cost-effectiveness that are suitable for integration into PAN-based CC via electroless plating.

Ta3N5 Nanobelt-Loaded Ru Nanoparticle Hybrids' Electrocatalysis for Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Media

Electrochemical hydrogen evolution is a highly efficient way to produce hydrogen, but since it is limited by high-cost electrocatalysts, the preparation of high-efficiency electrocatalysts with fewer or free noble metals is important. Here, Ta₃N₅ nanobelt (NB)-loaded Ru nanoparticle (NP) hybrids with various ratios, including 1~10 wt% Ru/Ta₃N₅, are constructed to electrocatalyze water splitting for a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. The results show that 5 wt% Ru/Ta₃N₅ NBs have good HER properties with an overpotential of 64.6 mV, a Tafel slope of 84.92 mV/dec at 10 mA/cm² in 1 M of KOH solution, and good stability. The overpotential of the HER is lower than that of Pt/C (20 wt%) at current densities of 26.3 mA/cm² or more. The morphologies and structures of the materials are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, respectively. X-ray photoelectron energy spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrates that a good HER performance is generated by the synergistic effect and electronic transfer of Ru to Ta₃N₅. Our electrochemical analyses and theoretical calculations indicate that Ru/Ta₃N₅ interfaces play an important role as real active sites.

Electrochemical Reconstruction of NiFe/NiFeOOH Superparamagnetic Core/Catalytic Shell Heterostructure for Magnetic Heating Enhancement of Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Although (oxy)hydroxides generated by electrochemical reconstruction (EC-reconstruction) of transition-metal catalysts exhibit highly catalytic activities, the amorphous nature fundamentally impedes the electrochemical kinetics due to its poor electrical conductivity. Here, EC-reconstructed NiFe/NiFeOOH core/shell nanoparticles in highly conductive carbon matrix based on the pulsed laser deposition prepared NiFe nanoparticles is successfully confined. Electrochemical characterizations and first-principles calculations demonstrate that the reconstructed NiFe/NiFeOOH core/shell nanoparticles exhibit high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalytic activity (a low overpotential of 342.2 mV for 10 mA cm^-2 ) and remarkable durability due to the efficient charge transfer in the highly conductive confined heterostructure. More importantly, benefit from the superparamagnetic nature of the reconstructed NiFe/NiFeOOH core/shell nanoparticles, a large OER improvement is achieved (an ultralow overpotential of 209.2 mV for 10 mA cm^-2 ) with an alternating magnetic field stimulation. Such OER improvement can be attributed to the Néel relaxation related magnetic heating effect functionalized superparamagnetic NiFe cores, which are generally underutilized in reconstructed core/shell nanoparticles. This work demonstrates that the designed superparamagnetic core/shell nanoparticles, combined with the large improvement by magnetic heating effect, are expected to be highly efficient OER catalysts along with the confined structure guaranteed high conductivity and catalytic stability.

A yolk-shell structure construction for metal-organic frameworks toward an enhanced electrochemical water splitting catalysis

NiFe-based transition metal catalysts are widely used in electrocatalysis, especially in the field of water splitting, due to their excellent electrochemical performance. Herein, a simple method was designed to synthesize a Ni MOF based on nickel foam and it was modified with Fe. After the introduction of Fe, the resulting material exhibits an obvious yolk-shell structure, which greatly increases the specific surface area and facilitates the construction of active sites. At the same time, the synergy between Ni and Fe is conducive to optimizing the electronic structure and effectively improving the poor stability of the MOF. As a result, the synthesized Ni MOF-Fe-2 only needs an overpotential of 229 mV to achieve the OER at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2, which is better than most reported transition metal-based electrocatalysts. To our surprise, it showed extraordinary stability under the voltage used for water splitting.

In situ fabrication of HDA-mediated NiFe–Fe2O3 nanorods: an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones in water

A simple, facile and an effective route for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones via multi-component reactions using newly developed NiFe–Fe2O3 nanorods as heterogeneous catalysts.

Recent advances in biomass-derived platform chemicals to valeric acid synthesis

A perspective overview for levulinic acid and/or γ-valerolactone to valeric acid synthesis via thermocatalytic and electrocatalytic systems has been summarized.

Ultrafine NiFe clusters anchored on N-doped carbon as bifunctional electrocatalysts for efficient water and urea oxidation

Hydrogen production through electrocatalysis is crucial in renewable energy technologies but significantly impeded by sluggish anodic reactions. Developing bifunctional anode noble-metal-free electrocatalysts towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR) to boost cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is promising but challenging to meet different reaction media and multiple applications for simultaneous clean energy production and pollution treatment. Herein, a facile one-pot thermal treatment strategy is presented to anchor NiFe nanoclusters (with a size of about 2 nm) on N-doped carbon as bifunctional electrocatalysts for both OER and UOR. Such an electrocatalyst can deliver a current density of 20 mA cm-2 with a low overpotential of 260 mV and a small Tafel slope of 42 mV dec-1 for OER, superior to the state-of-the-art Ru-based materials. Besides, this electrocatalyst also shows excellent activity for UOR with the need for just 1.37 V (vs. RHE) to attain a current density of 100 mA cm-2. In a two-electrode electrolyzer for both cathodic HER and anodic UOR, only a cell voltage of 1.50 V is required to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2, which is 140 mV lower than that of overall water splitting electrolysis (1.64 V). The excellent electrooxidative performance can be attributed to the improved conductivity, abundant active sites and fast charge transfer and transport benefiting from the ultrafine structure of NiFe clusters and their synergistic effect with N-doped carbon.

A novel ligand with –NH2 and –COOH-decorated Co/Fe-based oxide for an efficient overall water splitting: dual modulation roles of active sites and local electronic structure

Excellent electrochemical water splitting with remarkable durability can provide a solution to satisfy the increasing global energy demand in which the electrode materials play an important role.

Vertically aligned MoS2 nanosheets on N-doped carbon nanotubes with NiFe alloy for overall water splitting

Schematic illustration of the formation process and performance of overall water splitting for NiFe-NCNT@MoS₂ samples.

NiFeP nanoflakes composite with CoP on carbon cloth as flexible and durable electrocatalyst for efficient overall water splitting

High-performance and earth-abundant NiFeP is an excellent bifunctional catalyst for water splitting in acidic and alkaline environments, and NiFeP nanoflakes on CoP layer composite with a conductive carbon cloth (CC) substrate as the trunk-leaf flexible structure (NiFeP/CoP/CC) is prepared by direct high-temperature phosphorization. Overpotentials of only 96.38 and 78.80 mV are required in hydrogen evolution reaction in 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H₂SO₄, respectively, to generate an electrocatalytic current density of 10 mA cm^-2. A small Tafel slope of 70.67 and 63.21 mV per decade are also observed from NiFeP/CoP/CC revealing a Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism in both media. The electrocatalyst also delivers excellent oxygen evolution reaction performance in the alkaline environment and long-term electrochemical durability for at least 24 h in electrolytes over a wide pH range. A device is assembled with two identical flexible ultrathin NiFeP/CoP/CC as both the anode and cathode in 1 M KOH driven by a set of 1.6 V solar cells. During 32 h of electrolysis, the results show that the current of our electrodes maintains 80% performance at a constant voltage of 1.7 V for 32 h, and the NiFeP/CoP/CC anodes and cathodes have large potential in industrial alkaline water splitting.