@article {44172,
	title = {Nitrogen-doped graphene with a three-dimensional architecture assisted by carbon nitride tetrapods as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution},
	journal = {Chemelectrochem},
	volume = {4},
	year = {2017},
	month = {OCT},
	pages = {2643-2652},
	type = {Article},
	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.},
	keywords = {carbon nitride, Density functional theory, electrocatalyst, hydrogen evolution reaction, nitrogen doped graphene},
	issn = {2196-0216},
	doi = {10.1002/celc.201700479},
	author = {Gangadharan, Pranav K. and Unni, SreeKuttan M. and Kumar, Nandha and Ghosh, Prasenjit and Kurungot, Sreekumar}
}
@article {46052,
	title = {[MoS4](2-)-Intercalated NiCo-layered double hydroxide nanospikes: an efficiently synergized material for urine to direct H-2 generation},
	journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces},
	volume = {11},
	year = {2019},
	month = {JUL },
	pages = {25917-25927},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>Substituting the energy-uphill water oxidation half-cell with readily oxidizable urea-rich urine, a ground-breaking bridge is constructed, combining the energy-efficient hydrogen generation and environmental 6 protection. Hence, designing a robust multifunctional electrocatalyst is desirable for widespread implementation of this waste to fuel technology. In this context, here, we report a simple tuning of the electrocatalytically favorable characteristics of NiCo-layered double hydroxide by introducing [MoS4]2- in its interlayer space. The [MoS4]{\textquoteright} insertion as well as its effect on the electronic structure tuning is thoroughly studied via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with electrochemical analysis. This insertion induces overall electronic structure tuning of the hydroxide layer in such a way that the designed catalyst exhibited favorable kinetics toward all the required reactions of hydrogen generation. This is why our homemade catalyst, when utilized both as a cathode and anode to fabricate a urea electrolyzer, required a mere X1.37 V cell potential to generate sufficient H2 by reaching the benchmark 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH/0.33 M urea along with long-lasting catalytic efficiency. Other indispensable reason of selecting [MoS4]2- is its high-valent nature making the catalyst highly selective and insensitive to common catalyst-poisoning toxins of urine. This is experimentally supported by performing the real urine electrolysis, where the nanospike-covered Ni foam-based catalyst showed a performance similar to that of synthetic urea, offering its industrial value. Other intuition of selecting [MoS4]2- was to provide a ligand-based mechanism for hydrogen evolution half-cell [hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)] to preclude the HER-competing oxygen reduction. Another crucial point of our work is its potential to avoid the mixing of two explosive product gases, that is, H2 and O-2.</p>
},
	keywords = {hydrogen evolution reaction, Layered double hydroxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, sewage denitrification, urea oxidation reaction, urine/urea electrolysis},
	issn = {1944-8244},
	doi = {10.1021/acsami.9b06545},
	author = {Nadeema, Ayasha and Kashyap, Varchaswal and Gururaj, Rakshitha and Kurungot, Sreekumar}
}
@article {46853,
	title = {Co@CoAl-layered double hydroxide/nitrogen-doped graphene composite catalyst for Al-H2O-based batteries: simultaneous hydrogen production and electricity generation},
	journal = {ChemElectroChem},
	volume = {7},
	year = {2020},
	month = {JUN},
	pages = {2582-2591},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>Currently, the low energy efficiency of water electrolysis has compelled research toward the development of novel and energy-effective strategies for low-cost H-2 generation. In this context, we report a new concept of simultaneous H-2 and electricity generation by separating out the exothermic self-sustained Al-H2O reaction via electrochemistry. In addition, to catalyze the cathodic water reduction reaction, a single-pot and environmentally benign synthesis method is adopted. It results in the design of an electrocatalyst composed of Co@CoAl-layered double hydroxide core-shell nanospheres anchored over in situ generated N-doped graphene. Toward the water reduction reaction, the designed catalyst shows a negative voltage shift of mere around 113 mV with respect to the commercial Pt/C catalyst to reach the benchmark 10 mA cm(-2), with excellent stability of approximately 86 \% voltage retention after 12 h of continuous operation. The catalytic superiority of our material is evident when taken for battery-level testing; the fabricated device was able to deliver an average output voltage of around 0.95 V at a discharge current density of 5 mA cm(-2) along with H-2 liberation, which was also detected and quantified through gas chromatography.</p>
},
	keywords = {Al-H2O fuel cells, chronopotentiometry, core-shell structures, hydrogen evolution reaction, layered double hydroxides},
	issn = {2196-0216},
	doi = {10.1002/celc.202000502, Early Access Date = MAY 2020},
	author = {Nadeema, Ayasha and Pandurang Kharabe, Geeta and Prakash Biswal, Dibya and Kurungot, Sreekumar}
}
