Ultrafine WC nanoparticles anchored on co-encased, N-doped carbon nanotubes for efficient hydrogen evolution

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• 作者：Ruguang Ma^a ; ^b ; Erhong Song^a ; Yao Zhou^a ; Zhenzhen Zhou^a ; Guanghui Liu^a ; Qian Liu^a ; ^b ; ^{qianliu@sunm.shcnc.ac.cn} ; Jianjun Liu^a ; ^{jliu@mail.sic.ac.cn} ; Yufang Zhu^c ; Jiacheng Wang^a ; ^b ; ^{jiacheng.wang@mail.sic.ac.cn}
• 关键词：Tungsten carbide ; Carbon nanotubes ; Density functional theory ; Synergistic effects ; Hydrogen evolution reaction
• 刊名：Energy Storage Materials
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：6
• 期：Complete
• 页码：104-111
• 全文大小：2333 K
• 卷排序：6

文摘

The high-activity electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are highly desired to replace precious Pt, but difficult to achieve. Herein, we report the loading of ultrafine tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles (NPs) on cobalt-embedded, bamboo-like, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (WC/Co@NCNTs) with high-level N doping via a one-step strategy, leading to a desirable multicomponent nanocomposite with superior activity and stability when used as the HER electrocatalyst. The optimized WC/Co@NCNTs showed a very low onset overpotential (Uonset) of ~18 mV, a small Tafel slope of 52 mV dec−1, a small η10 of only 98 mV to reach a current of 10 mA cm−2, and a large exchange current density (j0) of 0.103 mA cm−2, which also retained its high activity for at least 12.5 h operation in acidic electrolyte. The DFT calculations revealed an important role of the N dopants in the HER as well as a favorable ΔGH* for the adsorption and desorption of hydrogen derived from the synergistic effects between WC NPs and Co@NCNTs.