Abstract Developing economical and efficient electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) plays a crucial role in promoting the utilization of hydrogen energy. Herein, a bottom-up strategy is exploited to synthesize ultrafine molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) nanocrystals assembling in boron, nitrogen co-doped carbon matrix (BNC). The BNC framework not only increases the dispersibility of carbide particles, but also provides additional active sites to intensify HER performance. Moreover, in comparison with mono-heteroatom modification, the catalyst decorating with B and N simultaneously is demonstrated to be a generalist which can efficaciously catalyze HER in both acidic and alkaline electrolyte. In-depth studies show that N-doping is conductive to capturing protons in acid while B-doping facilitates the adsorption and dissociation of water in alkali. This work may shed some light on the rational design and manufacture of HER electrocatalysts with high compatibility to distinct electrolytic environments.

中文翻译：

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碳化钼纳米粒子组装在不同杂原子掺杂的碳基质中作为酸性和碱性介质中的高效析氢电催化剂

摘要 开发经济高效的析氢反应（HER）电催化剂对促进氢能的利用具有至关重要的作用。在此，利用自下而上的策略来合成组装在硼、氮共掺杂碳基体 (BNC) 中的超细碳化钼 (Mo2C) 纳米晶体。BNC 骨架不仅增加了碳化物颗粒的分散性，而且还提供了额外的活性位点以增强 HER 性能。此外，与单杂原子改性相比，同时用B和N修饰的催化剂被证明是一种通才，可以在酸性和碱性电解质中有效催化HER。深入研究表明，N 掺杂有利于捕获酸中的质子，而 B 掺杂有利于水在碱中的吸附和解离。这项工作可能为合理设计和制造对不同电解环境具有高兼容性的 HER 电催化剂提供一些启示。