Carbon-encapsulated multi-phase nanocomposite of W2C@WC1-: X as a highly active and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen generation

Inha Kim, Sung Woo Park, Dong Wan Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    31 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The major challenges related to the activity, stability, and cost of electrocatalysts are being increasingly raised to achieve highly efficient and cost-effective hydrogen generation. Herein, multiphase nanocomposites of W2C@WC1-x encapsulated within graphitic carbon layers were prepared via a facile and effective process of electrical explosion of wires and subsequent heat treatment to serve as a highly active and stable electrocatalyst without any noble metal for hydrogen generation. The single-phase comprising less than 15 nm WC1-x nanoparticles embedded in a lump of amorphous carbon were successfully synthesized via the EEW process in oleic acid used as a carbon source at room temperature. Subsequent heat treatment facilitates the desired phase transition of WC1-x to W2C without the formation of any secondary phases, maintaining the initial particle size and simultaneously eliminating excess amorphous carbon adhered to the nanoparticles. The few graphitic carbon layer-encapsulated nanoparticles with the main W2C phase prepared by this simple method exhibit high efficiency for hydrogen generation with a low overpotential of 240 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a low Tafel slope of 86 mV dec-1. Moreover, the overpotential is well maintained at a constantly injected current density of 10 mA cm-2 for 100 h with a low η100i value of 1.03 (ηi: initial overpotential, η100: overpotential after 100 h), demonstrating superior catalytic stability in acidic media. This work proposes and evaluates a facile strategy for the synthesis of highly efficient electrocatalysts based on metal carbides without noble metals.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)21123-21131
    Number of pages9
    JournalNanoscale
    Volume10
    Issue number45
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018 Dec 7

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, South Korea (NRF-2016M3A7B4909318).

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science

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