NiCo alloys with optimized electronic structure for ultralow overpotential alkaline hydrogen evolution
Abstract
Modulating the electronic structure of alloy catalysts is a pivotal strategy for enhancing their intrinsic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. This work demonstrates that incorporating cobalt into nickel can effectively modulate the electronic structure of nickel while leveraging the excellent lattice matching between Ni and Co to maintain alloy structural integrity, thereby simultaneously enhancing intrinsic HER activity and endowing the catalyst with superior structural stability. The optimized Co1Ni1/C catalyst exhibits an ultralow overpotential of 21.2 mV at 10 mA cm−2, which not only surpasses that of most reported NiCo alloys but also approaches the level of NiMo alloys, while effectively avoiding the common metal leaching issues associated with NiMo alloys. Systematic characterization using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance proved that cobalt doping induces electron transfer from Ni to Co, raising the d-band center of Ni and increasing unpaired electron density. These electronic reconfigurations strengthen water adsorption at nickel active sites, thereby accelerating the water dissociation kinetics. The catalyst also exhibits superior stability with minimal performance decay during prolonged operation. The catalyst also demonstrates excellent stability with minimal performance degradation during prolonged operation, outperforming conventional NiMo alloys.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (10)
Mingjuan Zhang
Siyuan Laboratory, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Department of Physics, Jinan University 1 , Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632,
Xiaotong Mao
Siyuan Laboratory, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Department of Physics, Jinan University 1 , Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632,
Lijie Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Product Research, School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy
Hongzhan Chen
Siyuan Laboratory, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Department of Physics, Jinan University 1 , Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632,
Fangyan Xie
Instrumental Analysis and Research Center Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou 510275 China
Jian Chen
Wenyu Huang
Nan Wang
Yanshuo Jin
Siyuan Laboratory, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Department of Physics, Jinan University 1 , Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632,
Hui Meng
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering