Au Promoted Nickel-Iron Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoarrays: A Modular Catalyst Enabling High-Performance Oxygen Evolution

Recent Advances in Catalyst Design and Performance Optimization of Nanostructured Cathode Materials in Zinc-Air Batteries

This review focuses on the advanced design and optimization of nanostructured zinc-air batteries (ZABs), with the aim of boosting their energy storage and conversion capabilities. The findings show that ZABs favor porous nanostructures owing to their large surface area, and this enhances the battery capacity, catalytic activity, and life cycle. In addition, the nanomaterials improve the electrical conductivity, ion transport, and overall battery stability, which crucially reduces dendrite growth on the zinc anodes and improves cycle life and energy efficiency. To obtain a superior performance, the importance of controlling the operational conditions and using custom nanostructural designs, optimal electrode materials, and carefully adjusted electrolytes is highlighted. In conclusion, porous nanostructures and nanoscale materials significantly boost the energy density, longevity, and efficiency of Zn-air batteries. It is suggested that future research should focus on the fundamental design principles of these materials to further enhance the battery performance and drive sustainable energy solutions.

Facile formation of Zn-incorporated NiFe layered double hydroxide as highly-efficient oxygen evolution catalyst

Electrochemical water splitting is the primary method to produce green hydrogen, which is considered an efficient alternative to fossil fuels for achieving carbon neutrality. For meeting the increasing market demand for green hydrogen, high-efficiency, low-cost, and large-scale electrocatalysts are crucial. In this study, we report a simple spontaneous corrosion and cyclic voltammetry (CV) activation method to fabricate Zn-incorporated NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) on commercial NiFe foam, which shows excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. The electrocatalyst achieves an overpotential of 565 mV and outstanding stability of up to 112 h at 400 mA cm^-2. The active layer for OER is shown to be β-NiFeOOH according to the results of in-situ Raman. Our findings suggest that the NiFe foam treated by simple spontaneous corrosion has promising industrial applications as a highly efficient OER catalyst.

Bifunctional keel flower-like Ni-Co-V multicomponent oxide catalyst with enhanced electron transport for accelerating overall water splitting

Heteroatom doping is considered a typical method for improving the electrochemical properties of composites. In this work, the multi-component oxide catalyst (Ni(VO₃)₂ and Co₂V₂O₇ on Ni foam, referred to as NiCoVO_x@NF) is formed by hydrothermal doping of V element into NiCo-based precursors followed by co-oxidation. In the catalyst NiCoVO_x@NF, all three components of Ni, Co and V are particularly tightly coordinated, exhibiting an integrated structure of keel flower-like arrays. The catalyst NiCoVO_x@NF's contact surface with water is increased thanks to this unusual structure, exposing a high number of active sites. Furthermore, NiCoVO_x@NF owns efficient electronic pathways, which greatly enhances the electron transport ability. To generate a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 for hydrogen evolution reaction, just a 107 mV overpotential is required. The electrode exhibits a low overpotential of 217 mV to deliver 50 mA cm^-2 for oxygen evolution reaction. In addition, the total water splitting performance of NiCoVO_x@NF is also excellent, which could be achieved by only one 1.5 V AA battery. This study provides a feasible heteroatom doping route to design bifunctional catalysts with improved performances.

Enhancement Strategy of Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of Cobalt-Copper Layer Double Hydroxide toward Methanol Oxidation: Cerium Doping and Modification with Porphyrin

Designing durable, high-active, and low-cost noble-metal-free photoelectrocatalysts for methanol electrooxidation is highly demanded but remains a challenge. Herein, the photoelectrocatalytic activity of cobalt-copper layer double hydroxide (CoCu-LDH) for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in the alkaline media under light was remarkably enhanced by cerium (Ce) doping and further by 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxylphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) modification. TCPP/Ce-CoCu-LDH exhibits a remarkable mass activity of 1788.2 mA mg^-1 in 1 mol L^-1 KOH with 1 mol L^-1 methanol under light, which is 2.3 and 1.8 times higher than that of CoCu-LDH (782.2 mA mg^-1) and Ce-CoCu-LDH (987.4 mA mg^-1). The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra and photoluminescence emission spectra reveal that TCPP/Ce-CoCu-LDH can effectively utilize the visible light and inhibit the electron-hole pairs' recombination because of the introduction of porphyrin. Furthermore, more active sites and the greater electrical conductivity of TCPP/Ce-CoCu-LDH also contributed to the high photoelectrocatalytic activity. Thus, TCPP/Ce-CoCu-LDH can be used as a low-cost alternative for Pt-based catalyst toward MOR.

Achieving Ultrasensitive Point-of-Care Assay for Mercury Ions with a Triple-Mode Strategy Based on the Mercury-Triggered Dual-Enzyme Mimetic Activities of Au/WO3 Hierarchical Hollow Nanoflowers

The exploration of new strategies for portable detection of mercury ions with high sensitivity and selectivity is of great value for biochemical and environmental analyses. Herein, a straightforward, convenient, label-free, and portable sensing platform based on a Au nanoparticle (NP)-decorated WO₃ hollow nanoflower was constructed for the sensitive and selective detection of Hg(II) with a pressure, temperature, and colorimetric triple-signal readout. The resulting Au/WO₃ hollow nanoflowers (Au/WO₃ HNFs) could efficaciously impede the aggregation of Au NPs, thus significantly improving their catalytic activity and stability. The sensing mechanism of this new strategy using pressure as a signal readout was based on the mercury-triggered catalase mimetic activity of Au/WO₃ HNFs. In the presence of the model analyte Hg(II), H₂O₂ in the detection system was decomposed to O₂ fleetly, resulting in a detectable pressure signal. Accordingly, the quantification of Hg(II) was facilely realized based on the pressure changes, and the detection limit could reach as low as 0.224 nM. In addition, colorimetric and photothermal detection of Hg(II) using the Au/WO₃ HNFs based on their mercury-stimulated peroxidase mimetic activity was also investigated, and the detection limits were calculated to be 78 nM and 0.22 μM for colorimetric and photothermal methods, respectively. Hence, this nanosensor can even achieve multimode determination of Hg(II) with the concept of point-of-care testing (POCT). Furthermore, the proposed multimode sensing platform also displayed satisfactory sensing performance for the Hg(II) assay in actual water samples. This promising strategy may provide novel insights on the fabrication of a multimode POCT platform for sensitive, selective, and accurate detection of heavy metal ions.

Bi-Functional Fe3 O4 /Au/CoFe-LDH Sandwich-Structured Electrocatalyst for Asymmetrical Electrolyzer with Low Operation Voltage

The reduction of the overall electrolysis potential to produce hydrogen is a critical target for fabricating applicable hydrogen evolution cells. Sandwich-structured Fe₃ O₄ /Au/CoFe-LDH is synthesized via a spontaneous galvanic displacement reaction. A series of structural characterizations indicate the successful synthesis of sandwich-structured Fe₃ O₄ /Au/CoFe-LDH electrocatalyst. The trace amount of Au laying between Fe₃ O₄ and CoFe-LDH significantly improves the intrinsic conductivity and catalytic activity of the composite catalyst. In-depth investigations indicate that Fe₃ O₄ and CoFe-LDH are responsible for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) whereas Au is responsible for the electrocatalytic glucose oxidation (GOR). The electrocatalytic tests indicate Fe₃ O₄ /Au/CoFe-LDH offers excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for both HER and GOR, even at high current density (i.e., 1000 mA cm^-2 ). Further electrochemistry examinations in a two-compartment cell with a two-electrode configuration show that Fe₃ O₄ /Au/CoFe-LDH can significantly reduce the overall potential for this asymmetrical cell, with only 0.48 and 0.89 V required to achieve 10 mA cm^-2 current density with and without iR-compensation, which is the lowest overall potential requirement ever reported. The design and synthesis of Fe₃ O₄ /Au/CoFe-LDH pave a new way to electrochemically produce hydrogen and gluconate under extremely low cell voltage, which can readily match with a variety of solar cells.

Unsupported gold nanocones as sonocatalytic agents with enhanced catalytic properties

Gold catalysts have attracted attention for enabling sustainable chemical processes under ambient conditions. This reactivity is attributed to the small size of the catalysts (<5 nm); however, their size also creates difficulty when removing from product streams and often require rare-metal additives to enhance reaction rate kinetics, thereby limiting the environmental benefits of these catalysts. Comparatively, submicron gold catalysts are easier to separate but are much less reactive under ambient conditions. In this study, we synthesized submicron gas-stabilising gold nanocones (gs-AuNCs) that are acoustically responsive to afford greater reaction rates than other conventional gold catalysts. We explore the catalytic performance of acoustically responsive gs-AuNCs exposed to focussed ultrasound at 5.0 MPa peak negative pressure and 1.1 MHz center frequency. Cavitation nucleated from gs-AuNCs significantly increased the sonocatalytic degradation of water pollutants without the need for co-catalysts. The ability to amplify catalysis with ultrasound by tailoring the morphology of the catalyst to control cavitation opens new paths for future designs of sonocatalysts that may enable a sustainable chemical approach needed for a broad range of industrial processes.

Integrating electrochemical sensor based on MoO3/Co3O4 heterostructure for highly sensitive sensing of nitrite in sausages and water

Considering excess nitrites are detrimental to the human body and environment, designing a rapid, sensitive, and real-time quantitative determination for nitrite is of great significance for environmental preservation and public health. In this paper, Co₃O₄ nanoflowers coupled with ultrafine MoO₃ nanoparticles (MoO₃/Co₃O₄) are obtained via a hybrid electrochemical deposition strategy (HED). The as-designed MoO₃/Co₃O₄/CC integrating electrode exhibits superior electrocatalytic properties towards nitrite oxidation, owing to the synergistic effect between MoO₃ and Co₃O₄ caused by the heterostructure of MoO₃/Co₃O₄. The electrode achieved a low response time of 2 s, an excellent sensitivity of 1704.1 μA mM^-1 cm^-2, and a low limit of detection of 0.075 μM (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the electrode displays promise for nitrite detection in complex food such as water and sausages samples. Our study will provide a significant strategy for the application of bimetallic heterostructure to explore the design of sensing interfaces.

Synergistically integrated Co9S8@NiFe-layered double hydroxide core-branch hierarchical architectures as efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting

Efficient, low-cost, and robust electrocatalysts development for overall water splitting is highly desirable for renewable energy production yet still remains challenging. In this work, Co₉S₈ nanoneedles arrays are synergistically integrated with NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets to form Co₉S₈@NiFe-LDH core-branch hierarchical architectures supported on nickel foam (Co₉S₈@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF). The Co₉S₈@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF exhibits high catalytic performances for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotential of 190 and 145 mV at 10 mA cm^-2, respectively. The density functional theory calculations predict that the synergy between Co₉S₈ and NiFe-LDH contributes to the high catalytic performance by lowering the energy barrier of HER. When used as both anode and cathode electrocatalyst, it can deliver 10 mA cm^-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.585 V with excellent long-term durability. This work opens a new avenue toward the exploration of highly efficient and stable electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

A nanozyme-based enhanced system for total removal of organic mercury and SERS sensing

Total removal of organic mercury in industrial wastewater is a crucially important task facing environmental pollution in the current world. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of Au-NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH)/rGO nanocomposite as not only an efficient nanozyme with oxidase-like activity but also an efficient surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate to determine organic mercury, with the minimum detection concentration as low as 1 × 10^-8 M. According to the binding energy of X-Ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and the free radicals of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, the mechanism of catalytic enhanced degradation is the production of Au-amalgam on Au surface, accelerating the electron transfer and the generation of O₂^•- radicals from oxygen molecules and •CH₃ radicals from the methyl group in MeHg to participate the oxidase-like reaction. Furthermore, the Au-NiFe LDH/rGO nanocomposite is able to degrade and remove 99.9% of organic mercury in two hours without the secondary pollution by Hg²⁺. In addition, the material can be used for the multiple degradation-regeneration cycles in actual applications, which is significant in terms of the environmental and economic point of view. This work may open a new horizon for both highly sensitive detection and thorough degradation of organic mercury in environmental science and technology.

Competitive Lateral Flow Immunoassay Relying on Au-SiO2 Janus Nanoparticles with an Asymmetric Structure and Function for Furazolidone Residue Monitoring

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are the most commonly used signal materials in lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). However, the assay sensitivity of traditional AuNP-based LFIA is usually limited by the incomplete competition between free target analytes and immobilized antigens for the binding of AuNP-labeled antibodies. To unfreeze this limitation, here, asymmetric Au-SiO₂ Janus NPs (about 66 nm) were designed and synthesized. Au-SiO₂ Janus NPs can assemble into snowman-like anisotropic structures and combine two different physicochemical properties at their opposite sides, where the AuNP side mainly possesses the antibody conjugating and signal providing functions and the SiO₂ side primarily offers the stable function. In virtue of the unique asymmetric nanostructure, only the AuNP side can interact with target analytes by specific antigen-antibody interactions, which could significantly improve the efficiency of competition. Selecting furazolidone as a model analyte, the immunoassay biosensor showed a limit of detection as low as 0.08 ng/mL, 10-fold decreased than that of the AuNPs-LFIA. Moreover, the Au-SiO₂ Janus NP lateral flow immunoassay was well applied in chicken, pork, honey, and beef food samples with visual detection limits of 0.8 ng/g, 0.16 ng/g, 0.4 ng/mL, and 0.16 ng/g, respectively. The Au-SiO₂ Janus NPs possess the advantages of both materials, which will broaden their applications as a potential alternative in the rapid and sensitive detection of antibiotic residues.

Cobalt-Based Metal Organic Frameworks as Solids Catalysts for Oxidation Reactions

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline solids whose frameworks are constituted by metal ions/nodes with rigid organic linkers leading to the formation of materials having high surface area and pore volume. One of the unique features of MOFs is the presence of coordinatively unsaturated metal sites in their crystalline lattice that can act as Lewis acid sites promoting organic transformations, including aerobic oxidation reactions of various substrates such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, and sulfides. This review article summarizes the existing Co-based MOFs for oxidation reactions organized according to the nature of substrates like hydrocarbon, alcohol, olefin, and water. Both aerobic conditions and peroxide oxidants are discussed. Emphasis is placed on comparing the advantages of using MOFs as solid catalysts with respect to homogeneous salts in terms of product selectivity and long-term stability. The final section provides our view on future developments in this field.

Flower-like nanosheets directly grown on Co foil as efficient bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting

Hydrogen generation through electrochemical water decomposition is a promising method to address the global energy crisis. Herein, we report the synthesis of a series of flower-like Mo₃S₄/Co_1-xS composites on Co foil (Mo₃S₄/Co_1-xS@CF) as high-performance electrochemical water-splitting catalysts in an alkaline environment. The flower-like array structure of Mo₃S₄/Co_1-xS@CF not only increases the electrochemically active surface area of ​​the catalyst, but also facilitates the release of bubbles generated, resulting in enhanced catalytic activity. For the hydrogen evolution reaction, the Mo₃S₄/Co_1-xS@CF electrode exhibits good stability and excellent catalytic activity in 1.0 M KOH (η₁₀ = 105 mV), 1.0 M PBS (η₁₀ = 92 mV) and 0.5 M H₂SO₄ (η₁₀ = 68 mV) solutions. For the oxygen evolution reaction, the electrode displays excellent stability and catalytic activity in 1.0 M KOH solution (η₁₀ = 215 mV). When used for overall water splitting in 1.0 M KOH solution, Mo₃S₄/Co_1-xS@CF achieves a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at a low potential of 1.58 V and maintains it stably for 40 h. This study presents a simple method for preparing transition metal-based bimetallic composite catalysts for efficient hydrogen production.

2D Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets and Their Derivatives Toward Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have attracted tremendous research interest in widely spreading applications. Most notably, transition-metal-bearing LDHs are expected to serve as highly active electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their layered structure combined with versatile compositions. Furthermore, reducing the thickness of platelet LDH crystals to nanometer or even molecular scale via cleavage or delamination provides an important clue to enhance the activity. In this review, recent progresses on rational design of LDH nanosheets are reviewed, including direct synthesis via traditional coprecipitation, homogeneous precipitation, and newly developed topochemical oxidation as well as chemical exfoliation of parent LDH crystals. In addition, diverse strategies are introduced to modulate their electrochemical activity by tuning the composition of host metal cations and intercalated counter-anions, and incorporating dopants, cavities, and single atoms. In particular, hybridizing LDHs with conductive components or in situ growing them on conductive substrates to produce freestanding electrodes can further enhance their intrinsic catalytic activity. A brief discussion on future research directions and prospects is also summarized.

Enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction through modulating electronic structure of self-supported NiFe LDH

NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH), as an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst, has emerged as a promising electrocatalyst for catalyzing overall water splitting in alkaline electrolyte.

A Robust Nonprecious CuFe Composite as a Highly Efficient Bifunctional Catalyst for Overall Electrochemical Water Splitting

To generate hydrogen, which is a clean energy carrier, a combination of electrolysis and renewable energy sources is desirable. In particular, for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in electrolysis, it is necessary to develop nonprecious, efficient, and durable catalysts. A robust nonprecious copper-iron (CuFe) bimetallic composite is reported that can be used as a highly efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting in an alkaline medium. The catalyst exhibits outstanding OER and HER activity, and very low OER and HER overpotentials (218 and 158 mV, respectively) are necessary to attain a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 . When used in a two-electrode water electrolyzer system for overall water splitting, it not only achieves high durability (even at a very high current density of 100 mA cm^-2 ) but also reduces the potential required to split water into oxygen and hydrogen at 10 mA cm^-2 to 1.64 V for 100 h of continuous operation.

Controlled Self-Assembled NiFe Layered Double Hydroxides/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids Based on the Solid-Phase Exfoliation Strategy as an Excellent Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), as an effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst, face many challenges in practical applications. The main obstacle is that bulk materials limit the exposure of active sites. At the same time, the poor conductivity of LDHs is also an important factor. Exfoliation is one of the most direct and effective strategies to increase the electrocatalytic properties of LDHs, leading to exposure of many active sites. However, developing an efficient exfoliation strategy to exfoliate LDHs into stable monolayer nanosheets is still challenging. Therefore, we report a new and efficient solid-phase exfoliation strategy to exfoliate NiFe LDH and graphene oxide (GO) into monolayer nanosheets and the exfoliating ratios of NiFe LDH and GO can reach up to 10 and 5 wt %, respectively. Based on the solid-phase exfoliation strategy, we accidentally discovered that there is a dynamic evolution process between NiFe-LDH nanosheets (NiFe-LDH-NS) and GO nanosheets (GO-NS) to assemble new NiFe-LDH/GO nanohybrids, i.e., NiFe-LDH-NS could be horizontal bespreading on GO-NS or well-organized standing on GO-NS, or both simultaneously. The electrocatalytic OER property test results show that NiFe-LDH/RGO-3 (NFRG-3) nanohybrids obtained by the reduction treatment of NiFe-LDH/GO-3 (NFGO-3) nanohybrids, in which NiFe-LDH-NS are well-organized standing on GO-NS, have excellent electrocatalytic properties for OER in an alkaline solution (with a small overpotential of 273 mV and a Tafel slope of 49 mV dec^-1 at the current density of 30 mA cm^-2). The excellent electrocatalytic properties for OER of NFRG-3 nanohybrids could be attributed to the unique three-dimensional arraylike structure with many active sites. At the same time, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with excellent conductivity can improve the charge-transfer efficiency and synergistically improve OER properties of nanohybrids.

Graphdiyne-Supported NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets as Functional Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution

Graphdiyne (GDY), a novel two-dimensional full-carbon material, has attracted lots of attention because of its high conjugated system comprising sp² and sp-hybridized carbons. The distinctive structure characteristics endow it unique electronic structure, uniform distributed pores and excellent chemical stability. A novel GDY-supported NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) composite was successfully prepared for the first time. By taking advantage of the increased surface active areas and improved conductivity, the designed hierarchical GDY@NiFe composite exhibits outstanding catalytic activity that only required a small overpotential about 260 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm^-2. The nanocomposite shows excellent durability in alkaline medium implying a superior OER electrocatalytic activity. It is anticipated that the as-prepared GDY@NiFe composite electrocatalyst provide new insights in designing graphdiyne-supported electrocatalyst materials for oxygen evolution application.

Self-ZIF template-directed synthesis of a CoS nanoflake array as a Janus electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Self-ZIF template-directed synthesis of a CoS nanoflake array as a Janus electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

Noncovalent phosphorylation of CoCr layered double hydroxide nanosheets with improved electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction

Noncovalent phosphorylation of CoCr layered double hydroxide (LDH) was prepared by using P₂O₅ dissolved in isopropanol as a precursor, which showed improved catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction compared with pristine CoCr LDH.

Effects of Metal Combinations on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Transition-Metal-Based Layered Double Hydroxides for Water Oxidation: A Perspective with Insights

Transition-metal-based layered double hydroxides (TM LDHs) have emerged as highly efficient water oxidation catalysts. They are promising and have the potential to replace the rare and expensive precious metal-based ones such as RuO2 and IrO2, which have been well established. In this perspective, we will summarize the current development of TM LDHs as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts toward electrochemical water splitting. Particular emphasis will be placed on the roles of the transition-metal cations and the effects of their combination on their catalytic performance for the OER. It is hoped that this perspective will provide fundamental guidelines for future researches in this booming area.

A three-dimensional nickel-chromium layered double hydroxide micro/nanosheet array as an efficient and stable bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

The development of bifunctional and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is very important and challenging for renewable energy. Herein, for the first time, a nickel-chromium layered double hydroxide (NiCr-LDH) nanosheet array was developed as a bifunctional electrocatalyst towards overall water splitting. By tuning different Ni/Cr ratios of LDHs, the optimized Ni₂Cr₁-LDH shows extraordinary HER activity with an ultralow overpotential of 138 mV at 100 mA cm^-2, compared with all of the reported Ni-based LDHs (NiFe-LDH, NiCo-LDH, NiMn-LDH, NiTi-LDH, NiV-LDH etc.) and even outperforming Pt/C catalysts. The small overpotential of 319 mV at 100 mA cm^-2 for the OER and outstanding durability at 1.55 V (vs. RHE) for 30 hours can also be achieved for Ni₂Cr₁-LDH. Notably, a two-electrode electrolyzer with a Ni₂Cr₁-LDH bifunctional electrocatalyst as both the anode and the cathode can work for at least 30 hours with a cell voltage of merely 1.55 V at 10 mA cm^-2. Both experimental and density functional theoretical calculations show that the Cr³⁺ ions within the LDH layer serve as charge transfer sites and thus effectively boost the intrinsic electrochemical activity. Therefore, this work provides a new NiCr-LDH system as a more efficient metal hydroxide for bifunctional water splitting electrocatalyst.

Ultrafast fabrication of nickel sulfide film on Ni foam for efficient overall water splitting

Development of low-cost, high performance and stable non-noble electrocatalysts with both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities for overall water splitting is essential for future energy supply. Herein, for the first time, a facile and ultrafast synthetic method has been reported to fabricate nickel sulfide (Ni3S2) films on Ni foam (Ni3S2/NF) as efficient bifunctional electrodes for overall water splitting through direct dropping of mercaptoethanol solution followed by annealing at 300 °C for only 50 s. Thanks to the integrated three-dimensional (3D) configuration, the obtained Ni3S2/Ni foam exhibits excellent activity and stability for HER and OER with low overpotentials of 131 and 312 mV, respectively, to attain a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in alkaline media. Ni(OH)x species formed on the Ni3S2 surface serves as the actual catalytic site during OER reaction. Given the well-defined bifunctionality, an overall water-splitting device using two identical Ni3S2/NF electrodes delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.68 V in an alkaline water electrolyzer. This approach is promising as a simple method for depositing a wide range of useful transition metal sulfide electrocatalysts on corresponding metal substrate bifunctional electrodes for overall water splitting, shedding some light on the development of functional materials in energy chemistry.

NiFe2O4 Nanoparticles/NiFe Layered Double-Hydroxide Nanosheet Heterostructure Array for Efficient Overall Water Splitting at Large Current Densities

Constructing catalysts with new and optimizational chemical components and structures, which can operate well for both the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at large current densities, is of primary importance in practical water splitting technology. Herein, the NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles/NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheet heterostructure array on Ni foam was prepared via a simple one-step solvothermal approach. The as-prepared heterostructure array displays high catalytic activity toward the OER with a small overpotential of 213 mV at 100 mA cm^-2 and can afford a current density of 500 mA cm^-2 at an overpotential of 242 mV and 1000 mA cm^-2 at 265 mV. Moreover, it also presents outstanding HER activity, only needing a small overpotential of 101 mV at 10 mA cm^-2, and can drive large current densities of 500 and 750 mA cm^-2 at individual overpotentials of 297 and 314 mV. A two-electrode electrolyzer using NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles/NiFe LDH nanosheets as both the anode and the cathode implements active overall water splitting, demanding a low voltage of 1.535 V to drive 10 mA cm^-2, and can deliver 500 mA cm^-2 at 1.932 V. The NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles/NiFe LDH nanosheet array electrodes also show excellent stability against OER, HER, and overall water splitting at large current densities. Significantly, the overall water splitting with NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles/NiFe LDH nanosheets as both the anode and the cathode can be continuously driven by a battery of only 1.5 V. The intrinsic advantages and strong coupling effects of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and NiFe LDH nanosheets make NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles/NiFe LDH nanosheet heterostructure array abundant catalytically active sites, high electronic conductivity, and high catalytic reactivity, which remarkably contributed to the catalytic activities for OER, HER, and overall water splitting. Our work can inspire the optimal design of the NiFe bimetallic heterostructure electrocatalyst for application in practical water electrolysis.

IrCo Nanodendrite as an Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting under Acidic Conditions

Investigation of high-efficiency electrocatalysts for acidic overall water splitting is of great significance toward fulfillment of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers but still remains challenging. Herein, we report the colloidally synthesis of IrCo alloy nanodendrites with petal-like architecture (NDs). Benefiting from unique hierarchical architecture and strong electronic interaction arising from synergistic alloying effect of IrCo at the atomic level, the resultant IrCo_0.65 NDs display remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances with overpotentials of 17 and 281 mV to achieve 10 mA cm^-2 in 0.1 M HClO₄, respectively. Moreover, when further used as bifunctional electrocatalyst toward acidic overall splitting, a low cell voltage of 1.593 V is achieved at 10 mA cm^-2.

Conductive Leaflike Cobalt Metal-Organic Framework Nanoarray on Carbon Cloth as a Flexible and Versatile Anode toward Both Electrocatalytic Glucose and Water Oxidation

Transition metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), on account of their unique inherent properties of large pore volume, high specific surface area, tunable pores, and good catalytic activity, have been highly regarded as superior catalysts recently for water electrolysis, supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, and so on. Herein, we report on a cobalt MOF phase with 3D well-aligned nanosheets array architecture on carbon cloth (Co-MOF NS/CC), fabricated by a facile ambient liquid-phase deposition, could serve as a self-standing Janus catalytic electrode toward both glucose and water oxidation. It shows good glucose-sensing performance with low determination limit and large detection range. Also, it exhibits high water-oxidation efficiency with low overpotential and good durability. This work demonstrates the potential of utilizing transition-metal based well-aligned MOF nanoarrays for electrocatalytic oxidation.

A hybrid monolithic column based on layered double hydroxide-alginate hydrogel for selective solid phase extraction of lead ions in food and water samples

In order to develop an accurate and precise determination method based on solid phase extraction of Pb(II) in food and water samples, a hybrid monolithic column based on layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanosheets-alginate hydrogel has been synthesized. Combining the advantages of porous 3D framework of hydrogel with selective adsorption of LDHs toward Pb(II), the hydrogel-based hybrid monolithic column shows enhanced enrichment selectivity and efficiency for target ions. Effects of hydrogel composition, pH, concentration and type of eluent, sample volume, and interfering ions on the recoveries of the analytes were also investigated. Under the optimal experiment conditions of method, the limit of detection, preconcentration factor and precision as RSD% are found to be 0.39 μg L^-1, 53.7 and 2.65%, respectively. Trace Pb(II) can be quantitatively preconcentrated at pH 6.0 with recoveries >97%. Finally, the method was successfully verified by analyzing spiked Pb²⁺ in water and drinking samples.

Construction of a hierarchical NiFe layered double hydroxide with a 3D mesoporous structure as an advanced electrocatalyst for water oxidation

A facile and cost-effective one-step hydrothermal method is used to synthesize NiFe LDH microclusters with a 3D hierarchically mesoporous architecture. This superior electrocatalyst can achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² with an ultralow overpotential of 211 mV toward the oxygen evolution reaction.

Mn doped porous cobalt nitride nanowires with high activity for water oxidation under both alkaline and neutral conditions

We report the successful synthesis of Mn doped CoN nanowires on a carbon fiber cloth substrate (CFC) by a two-step strategy, which can be used as an efficient and stable OER electrocatalyst under both alkaline and neutral conditions.