Facile in-situ fabrication of nanocoral-like bimetallic Co-Mo carbide/nitrogen-doped carbon: a highly active and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

It is vital to exploit non-noble metal catalysts with ample natural reserve and high performance for reducing energy consumption during electrocatalytic water splitting process. Herein, nanocoral-like bimetallic Co-Mo carbide/nitrogen-doped carbon (Co-Mo2C/N-C) electrocatalysts have been successfully prepared by high temperature pyrolysis of CoMoO4 and melamine for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). When the mass ratio of CoMoO4 and melamine is 1:15, nanocorallike Co-Mo2C/N-C electrocatalyst shows optimal electrocatalytic HER activity, which just needs overpotentials of only 212 and 290 mV at the current density of 10 and 40 mA cm(-2), respectively. Besides, it shows low charge transfer resistance and surpassing stability for uninterrupted HER in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. The eximious electrochemical performance of Co-Mo2C/N-C is put down to the fact that N-C can effectively disperse Co-Mo2C nanoparticles. The results suggest that nanocoral-like Co-Mo2C/N-C with considerable catalytic activity and superior durability is believed as promising candidate to substitute noble metal catalysts for green and renewable hydrogen production by electrocatalytic water splitting. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

Nanocoral-like bimetallic Co-Mo carbide/nitrogen-doped carbon electrocatalysts exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution reaction, which can serve as promising candidates to substitute noble metal catalysts for green and renewable hydrogen production through electrocatalytic water splitting.