Engineering Amorphous/Crystalline Rod-like Core-Shell Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Amorphous/Crystalline Interface of Bi/Bi4NbO8Cl Heterostructure for Improved Piezo-Photocatalysis

Efficient separation of photogenerated charges at the surface of photocatalysts is vital for achieving high photocatalytic activity. Here, a Bi/Bi4NbO8Cl heterostructure piezo-photocatalyst with an amorphous/crystalline interface (acBi/BNC) is prepared by in situ reduction using Bi4NbO8Cl as a self-sacrificial template. This ingenious design synergistically utilizes the advantages of the amorphous/crystalline interface structure, localized surface plasmon resonance effect, and piezoelectric field. The formation of amorphous/crystalline interfaces induces the generation of oxygen vacancies, and subsequently lattice distortions, thus improving the piezoelectric properties. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the combination of piezoelectric field and amorphous/crystalline interface promotes the effective separation and migration of photogenerated charges between the bulk and surface of the catalysts. Under simultaneous light and ultrasound, the optimal heterostructure (acBi/BNC-3) exhibit superior photodegradation efficiency of tetracycline reached 80% within 5 min, and the reaction rate (2.78 × 10-1 min-1) is 7.8 and 5.4 times that of pure Bi4NbO8Cl (BNC) and crystalline Bi/Bi4NbO8Cl (cBi/BNC), respectively. Furthermore, the piezo-photocatalytic tetracycline degradation efficiency surpasses those under individual photocatalysis and piezocatalysis conditions. This work provides a novel rational design to improve the spatial charge separation of Bi-based catalysts and prepare high-performance piezo-photocatalysts via interface engineering.

Amorphous Ni(OH)2 Coated Cu Dendrites with Superaerophobic Interface for Bipolar Hydrogen Production Assisted with Formaldehyde Oxidation

Since formaldehyde oxidation reaction (FOR) can release H2, it is attractive to construct a bipolar hydrogen production system consisting of FOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Although copper-based catalysts have attracted much attention due to their low cost and high FOR activity, the performance enhancement mechanism lacks in-depth investigation. Here, an amorphous-crystalline catalyst of amorphous nickel hydroxide-coated copper dendrites on copper foam (Cu@Ni(OH)2/CF) is prepared. The modification of Ni(OH)2 resulted in hydrophilic and aerophobic states on the Cu@Ni(OH)2/CF surface, facilitating the transport of liquid-phase species on the electrode surface and accelerating the release of H2. The Open circuit potential (OCP) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that this core-shell structure facilitates the adsorption of HCHO and OH-. In addition, the catalytic mechanism and reaction pathway of FOR are investigated through in situ FTIR and DFT calculations, and the results showed that the modification of Ni(OH)2 lowered the energy barrier for C─H bond breaking and H─H bond formation. In the HER//FOR system, Pt/C//Cu@Ni(OH)2/CF can provide a current density of 0.5 A cm-2 at 0.36 V and achieve efficient and stable H2 production. This work offers new ideas for designing electrocatalysts for bipolar hydrogen production system assisted with formaldehyde oxidation.

Mitigating A-Site Segregation in Pyrochlore Oxides: Enhancing Oxygen Evolution Reaction Performance through Surface Engineering

Significant progress has been achieved in enhancing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of pyrochloric oxides through geometric and electronic structure regulation. However, the issue of A-site cation segregation in these materials remains underexplored. In this study, Bi2Ru2O7, a promising OER electrocatalyst, is synthesized via a sol-gel method, and its surface is modified using l-ascorbic acid to address Bi3+ segregation. This treatment selectively removes the Bi2O3 passivation layer, inducing an amorphous RuOx layer that forms a heterostructure with crystalline Bi2Ru2O7. This engineered structure significantly enhances catalytic performance, reducing the overpotential to 259 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and maintaining stability after continuous operation for >30 h. Comprehensive characterization, electrochemical testing, and density functional theory calculations reveal that the improvements stem from an increased number of oxygen vacancies and enhanced electron transfer. This work underscores the importance of surface engineering to mitigate A-site segregation, providing a new strategy for optimizing Ru-based pyrochlores in energy conversion technologies.

NiFe codoping-regulated amorphous/crystalline heterostructured Co-based hydroxides/tungstate with rich oxygen vacancies for efficient water oxidation catalysis

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a crucial half-reaction in water splitting, generating hydrogen for sustainable development, but it is often subject to sluggish kinetics. Abundant transition metal-based OER electrocatalysts have been utilized to expedite the process. However, traditional amorphous catalysts suffer from low conductivity, while the activity of crystalline catalysts is also unsatisfactory. Herein, an amorphous/crystalline heterostructured Co-based hydroxide/tungstate was meticulously constructed and further tailored using a NiFe codoping method (NiFeCoW). Following NiFe codoping, the electronic structure had been modulated, subsequently altering the adsorption toward intermediates. From the electrochemical measurements, the NiFeCoW catalyst demonstrated superior electrocatalytic activity for OER in alkaline media, with a minimal overpotential of 297 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a cell voltage of 1.57 V for water splitting. This study provides valuable guidance for regulating the amorphous/crystalline heterophase in catalysts through bimetallic modulating engineering.

Crystalline Ni5P4/amorphous CePO4 core/shell heterostructure arrays for highly-efficient electrocatalytic overall water splitting

Exploring low-cost and highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting has become a research focus recently. Crystalline/amorphous core/shell heterostructures have great potential for applications in the field of electrocatalytic overall water splitting. However, related research is still challenging. Herein, crystalline Ni5P4 nanosheets/amorphous CePO4 nanocrystals core/shell heterostructure arrays were developed for electrocatalytic overall water splitting. It is shown that the heterostructure array required competitive HER and OER overpotentials of 94 and 191 mV in alkaline environment (10 mA/cm2), respectively. Encouragingly, the symmetrical two-electrode system constructed with the heterostructure array only required an ultra-low cell voltage of 1.535 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA/cm2. This indicates the system has huge potential in overall water splitting. The electrocatalytic mechanism was studied systematically by combining theoretical calculation and experimental characterization. It was found that the surface coating of amorphous CePO4 could not only significantly increase the electrochemical active surface area and improve the charge transfer of crystalline Ni5P4 nanosheets, but could also regulate d-band center of Ni5P4 and optimize the adsorption towards reaction intermediates in water splitting. The results not only provide an excellent crystalline/amorphous core/shell heterostructure bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting but also greatly expand the application of rare earth metal phosphate CePO4.

MnOxHy-modified CoMoP/NF nanosheet arrays as hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction bifunctional catalysts under alkaline conditions

It is widely acknowledged that interface engineering strategies can significantly enhance the activity of catalysts. In this study, we developed a CoMoP nanoarray directly grown in situ on a nickel foam (NF) substrate, with the interface structure formed through the electrodeposition of MnOxHy. The resulting heterostructure MnOxHy/CoMoP/NF exhibited remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, achieving overpotentials as low as 61 and 138 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively. Moreover, MnOxHy/CoMoP/NF demonstrated efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity with an overpotential of 330 mV at 100 mA cm-2. Remarkably, MnOxHy/CoMoP/NF maintained its catalytic properties and structural integrity even after working continuously for 20 h facilitating the HER at 10 mA cm-2 and the OER at 100 mA cm-2. The Tafel slopes of the HER and OER were determined to be as small as 14 and 55 mV dec-1, respectively, confirming that the coupled interface conferred fast reaction kinetics on the catalyst. When applied in overall water splitting, MnOxHy/CoMoP/NF delivered a voltage of 1.91 V at 100 mA cm-2 with excellent stability. This study demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing a simple electrodeposition technique to fabricate a heterogeneous structure with bifunctional catalytic activity, establishing a solid foundation for diverse industrial applications.

Order-disorder engineering of RuO2 nanosheets towards pH-universal oxygen evolution

Ru-based electrocatalysts are considered promising anode catalysts towards water electrolysis due to their impressive activity under acidic conditions. Yet, caused by the collapse of the local crystalline domains and concurrent leaching of Ru species during the OER process, durability against structural degradation remains poor. Herein, we present an order-disorder structure optimization strategy, based on RuO2 nanosheets with well-defined amorphous-crystalline boundaries supported on carbon cloth (a/c-RuO2/CC), to effectively catalyze water oxidation, especially in the case of an acidic medium. Specifically, the as-prepared a/c-RuO2/CC sample has achieved a lower overpotential of 150 mV at 10 mA cm-2, a smaller Tafel slope of 47 mV dec-1, and a significantly higher durability with suppressed dissolution of Ru, with regard to its crystalline (c-RuO2/CC) and amorphous (a-RuO2/CC) counterparts. Computational simulations combined with experimental characterizations uncover that the construction of the structurally ordered-disordered boundary enables a weakened Ru-O covalency with regard to the ordered counterpart, which suppresses the leaching of active Ru species from the crystalline phase, thus enhances stability. An upshift of the d-band center in a/c-RuO2/CC relative to a-RuO2/CC reduces the energy barrier of the potential-determining step (*O → *OOH), thereby dramatically boosting activity.