Controlling the Surface Reactivity of Hybrid Ti3CN MXene via In-situ Electrocatalysis

Two-dimensional (2D) carbide and nitride MXenes possess properties that are desirable for a broad range of electrocatalytic applications including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). These properties include high surface area, hydrophilicity, heterogeneity of redox-active transition metals, and tunable surface functionalities allowing for low HER overpotentials. In this paper, we report on the cathodic etching and -O/-OH functionalization of hybrid Ti3CN upon the application of an external potential for improved HER performance and show that the active sites for HER on this MXene catalyst are located primarily on the -O- and -OH functional groups. The overpotential for the hybrid Ti3CN improves by 350 mV upon in-situ -O/-OH functionalization and etching, reaching -0.46 V vs. RHE at a current density of 10 mA cm(-2), much lower than those reported for the benchmark Ti3C2 carbide MXene. These results provide a path forward to tuning the electrocatalytic activity of MXenes and related electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Automated summary

In this paper, the cathodic etching and functionalization of hybrid Ti3CN were investigated to improve its performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under an external potential. The results show that the active sites for HER on the functionalized MXene catalyst are mainly located on the -O- and -OH functional groups. This provides a pathway for tuning the electrocatalytic activity of MXenes and related electrocatalysts.