Dopant triggered atomic configuration activates water splitting to hydrogen

Rui Wu; Jie Xu; Chuan-Lin Zhao; Xiao-Zhi Su; Xiao-Long Zhang; Ya-Rong Zheng; Feng-Yi Yang; Xu-Sheng Zheng; Jun-Fa Zhu; Jun Luo; Wei-Xue Li; Min-Rui Gao; Shu-Hong Yu

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37641-3

Nature Communications (Apr 2023)

Dopant triggered atomic configuration activates water splitting to hydrogen

Rui Wu,
Jie Xu,
Chuan-Lin Zhao,
Xiao-Zhi Su,
Xiao-Long Zhang,
Ya-Rong Zheng,
Feng-Yi Yang,
Xu-Sheng Zheng,
Jun-Fa Zhu,
Jun Luo,
Wei-Xue Li,
Min-Rui Gao,
Shu-Hong Yu

Affiliations

Rui Wu: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China
Jie Xu: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University
Chuan-Lin Zhao: Department of Chemical Physics, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Xiao-Zhi Su: Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, CAS
Xiao-Long Zhang: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China
Ya-Rong Zheng: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China
Feng-Yi Yang: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China
Xu-Sheng Zheng: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China
Jun-Fa Zhu: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China
Jun Luo: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology
Wei-Xue Li: Department of Chemical Physics, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Min-Rui Gao: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China
Shu-Hong Yu: Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, University of Science and Technology of China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37641-3
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Finding highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is pertinent to the ultimate goal of transformation into a net-zero carbon emission society. The design principles for such HER catalysts lie in the well-known structure-property relationship, which guides the synthesis procedure that creates catalyst with target properties such as catalytic activity. Here we report a general strategy to synthesize 10 kinds of single-atom-doped CoSe2-DETA (DETA = diethylenetriamine) nanobelts. By systematically analyzing these products, we demonstrate a volcano-shape correlation between HER activity and Co atomic configuration (ratio of Co-N bonds to Co-Se bonds). Specifically, Pb-CoSe2-DETA catalyst reaches current density of 10 mA cm−2 at 74 mV in acidic electrolyte (0.5 M H2SO4, pH ~0.35). This striking catalytic performance can be attributed to its optimized Co atomic configuration induced by single-atom doping.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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