Molybdenum Carbide-Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites as Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

The development of cost-effective, highly efficient, and stable electrocatalysts to replace expensive platinum-like metal catalysts remains a great challenge for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, we report a facile, microwave-assisted solvothermal (MWSV) synthesis of molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) nanoparticles and molybdenum carbide-reduced graphene oxide (Mo2C-RGO) nanocomposites at elevated temperatures. The optimized Mo2C-RGO nano-composite catalysts show excellent HER performance in acidic media. When GO is added, the onset potential and Tafel slope of the nanocomposite catalyst are 120 mV and 85 mV/dec, respectively. The catalysts also exhibit good stability in an acidic environment. This improvement of the carbide catalyst is attributed to highly accessible active reaction sites, efficient mass/charge transportation, and enhanced conductivity of the hybrid structure.

Automated summary

In this study, molybdenum carbide nanoparticles and molybdenum carbide-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites were synthesized using a facile, microwave-assisted solvothermal method at elevated temperatures. The optimized nanocomposite catalysts showed excellent performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media.