Nitrogen-doped graphene with a three-dimensional architecture assisted by carbon nitride tetrapods as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution
| Title | Nitrogen-doped graphene with a three-dimensional architecture assisted by carbon nitride tetrapods as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2017 |
| Authors | Gangadharan, PK, Unni, SKM, Kumar, N, Ghosh, P, Kurungot, S |
| Journal | Chemelectrochem |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pagination | 2643-2652 |
| Date Published | OCT |
| Type of Article | Article |
| ISSN | 2196-0216 |
| Keywords | carbon nitride, Density functional theory, electrocatalyst, hydrogen evolution reaction, nitrogen doped graphene |
| Abstract | Current polymer membrane-based electrolyzers use Pt as a cathode catalyst for efficient reduction of water. The high cost of Pt-based catalysts forces researchers to develop alternative electrocatalysts. Here, a simple strategy has been proposed to synthesize a metal-free electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by high-temperature annealing of graphene oxide-coated melamine foam. The prepared catalyst possesses both structural and functional advantages with its three-dimensional (3D) interconnected arms of carbon nitride (CNx) backbone wrapped with nitrogen-doped graphene (N-RGO) sheets (CNx@N-RGO). CNx@N-RGO faces only a 193 mV overpotential to achieve a current density of 10mAcm(-2), which is far superior to the previously reported Pt-free systems. Along with the high exchange current density 34.7 x 10(-6)A cm(-2) and low Tafel slope of 54 mV dec(-1), CNx@N-RGO follows a Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism for the HER. DFT calculations show that the synergy between CNx and N-RGO facilitates good electrical coupling between the two moieties and provides optimal binding to H+ ions on the catalyst that, in turn, results in efficient reduction of hydrogen ions. |
| DOI | 10.1002/celc.201700479 |
| Type of Journal (Indian or Foreign) | Foreign |
| Impact Factor (IF) | 4.136 |
Divison category:
Physical and Materials Chemistry
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