Dopant triggered atomic configuration activates water splitting to hydrogen.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37085504.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-37641-3 and PMC identifier 10121564.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Finding highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is pertinent to the ultimate goal of transformation into a net-zero carbon emission society. The design principles for such HER catalysts lie in the well-known structure-property relationship, which guides the synthesis procedure that creates catalyst with target properties such as catalytic activity. Here we report a general strategy to synthesize 10 kinds of single-atom-doped CoSe<sub>2</sub>-DETA (DETA = diethylenetriamine) nanobelts. By systematically analyzing these products, we demonstrate a volcano-shape correlation between HER activity and Co atomic configuration (ratio of Co-N bonds to Co-Se bonds). Specifically, Pb-CoSe<sub>2</sub>-DETA catalyst reaches current density of 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at 74 mV in acidic electrolyte (0.5 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, pH ~0.35). This striking catalytic performance can be attributed to its optimized Co atomic configuration induced by single-atom doping.