Controlled synthesis of highly active bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting using coal-based activated carbons

Xianglong Zhao; Xinghua Yong; Qizhe Ji; Zhenghua Yang; Yang Song; Yiqiang Sun; Zhengyang Cai; Jingcheng Xu; Luyan Li; Shuhua Shi; Feiyong Chen; Cuncheng Li; Ping Wang; Jong-Beom Baek

doi:10.1039/D2TA06595A

Controlled synthesis of highly active bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting using coal-based activated carbons†

Xianglong Zhao,^a Xinghua Yong,^a Qizhe Ji,^a Zhenghua Yang,^a Yang Song,

*^b Yiqiang Sun,

^c Zhengyang Cai,^d Jingcheng Xu,^e Luyan Li,^a Shuhua Shi,^a Feiyong Chen,^b Cuncheng Li,

^c Ping Wang

*^d and Jong-Beom Baek

*^f

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Science, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, P. R. China

^b Resources and Environment Innovation Institute, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, P. R. China
E-mail: songyang20@sdjzu.edu.cn

^c School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, P. R. China

^d Energy Materials Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China
E-mail: wangping@mail.sic.ac.cn

^e School of Materials and Chemistry, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, P. R. China

^f School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Center for Dimension-Controllable Organic Frameworks, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, Korea
E-mail: jbbaek@unist.ac.kr

Abstract

We report a facile approach for the synthesis of highly active bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), by simply annealing mixtures of cheap coal-based activated carbons (CACs), ruthenium chloride and nickel chlorides in ammonia. The electrocatalysts consist of nitrogen doped CACs (NCACs), which are uniformly decorated with ruthenium (Ru) (with a low content of 0.3 wt%) and nickel nitride (Ni₃N) nanoparticles (Ni₃N/Ru/NCAC composites). The Ni₃N/Ru/NCAC composites have a large surface area (853 m² g⁻¹), which is proven to be attributable to the inherent large surface area of the CACs and the easy etching of CACs during an annealing process in ammonia. Electrochemical measurements reveal that OER electrocatalytic activities of the Ni₃N/Ru/NCAC composites remarkably outperform those of the state-of-the-art IrO₂ catalysts, and their HER activities were comparable to those of the benchmark Pt/C catalysts. Moreover, when the Ni₃N/Ru/NCAC composites are used as both anodes and cathodes of electrolyzers for overall water splitting (OWS), they delivered a lower voltage of 1.55 V at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and better durability than Pt/C(−)//IrO₂(+) electrodes. These outstanding OER/HER bifunctional activities and OWS performances of the Ni₃N/Ru/NCAC composites are ascribed to the collaborative contributions of N, Ru, Ni₃N and their large surface areas.

This article is part of the themed collection: Celebrating ten years of Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Controlled synthesis of highly active bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting using coal-based activated carbons†

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Controlled synthesis of highly active bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting using coal-based activated carbons

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