One-step plasma nitriding synthesis of NixN/NF (x = 3, 4) for efficient hydrogen evolution
By Ma, Guanshui; Guo, Peng; Wang, Shuyuan; Liu, Yingrui; Xin, Yang; Li, Hao; Chen, Rende; Wang, Aiying
Published in Applied Surface Science
2021
Abstract
Development of high active and cost-effective non-noble metal productions was urgent for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts in future clean energy devices. Herein, we reported a simple approach to fabrication of NixN (x = 3, 4) on Ni foam (NF) through plasma-enhanced discharge nitridation in nitrogen precursors. The synthesized NixN/NF cathode exhibited a remarkable electrocatalytic performance and long-term durability for the HER in alkaline condition. In view of the density functional calculations, it was further showed that introduction of N atoms in NF decreased the values of Gibbs free energy, especially the interfacial sites of Ni4N-Ni exhibited the lowest value of −0.056 eV for H adsorption–desorption, and enhanced HER catalytic activity of NixN/NF. More importantly, the synthesis approach reported here was scalable and eco-friendly, which could be used as to generate the other transition metal nitride for catalytic reaction.