A Novel Bimetallic Nickel–Molybdenum Carbide Nanowire Array for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

The design and fabrication of noble-metal-free hydrogenevolution electrocatalysts with high activity is significant to future renewable energy systems. In this work, self-supported NiMo carbide nanowires on carbon cloth (Ni₃ Mo₃ C@NPC NWs/CC; NPC=N,P-doped carbon) were developed through an electropolymerization-assisted procedure. During the synthesis process, NiMoO₄ nanowires were first grown on CC through a hydrothermal reaction that was free of any polymer binder such as Nafion. By use of electropolymerization, the as-prepared NiMoO₄ NWs/CC sample was then coated by a layer of polypyrole (PPy) that served as the carbon source for subsequent conversion into Ni₃ Mo₃ C@NPC NWs/CC by carbothermal reduction. The experimental results indicated that judicious choices of the amount of coated PPy and the pyrolysis temperature were essential for obtaining the pure-phase, nanowire array structure of Ni₃ Mo₃ C@NPC NWs/CC. Benefitting from the pure phase of the bimetallic carbide, the unique architecture of the nanowire array, and its self-supported nature, the optimized Ni₃ Mo₃ C@NPC NWs/CC electrode exhibited excellent performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline media. Low overpotentials of 161 and 215 mV were required to afford a high current density of 100 mA cm^-2 toward the HER in acidic and alkaline media, respectively, and the catalytic activity was maintained for at least 48 h, which puts Ni₃ Mo₃ C@NPC NWs/CC among the best HER electrocatalysts based on metallic carbides yet reported.