MXene Nanofibers as Highly Active Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

By W. Yuan, Lai-fei Cheng, Yu-rong An, Heng Wu, Na Yao, Xiaoli Fan, Xiaohui Guo. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2018

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Nonprecious metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) have recently received growing attention. Herein, we designed a highly active MXene nanofiber catalyst with a high specific surface area (SSA) via the hydrolyzation of bulk MAX ceramics, and a subsequent HF etching process. Compared with traditional MXene flakes, the MXene nanofibers delivered a much higher SSA and exposed more active sites in the cross section. As a result, the MXene nanofiber delivered an enhanced HER activity with a low overpotential of 169 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2, a depressed Tafel slope of 97 mV dec–1, and low electrochemical resistance. The improved SSA and exposed active sites are responsible for the enhanced activity. This work provides a novel synthesis method for MXene nanofibers, and MXene nanofibers are also promising for applications in batteries, supercapacitors, and catalytic fields.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1b05dc5984f7d0665b1479fdf189fea928fa26a7