Se-NiSe2 hybrid nanosheet arrays with self-regulated elemental Se for efficient alkaline water splitting

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.12.022

Abstract

Abstract:

Understanding the catalytic mechanism of non-noble transition metal electrocatalysts is crucial to designing high-efficiency, low-cost, and durable alternative electrocatalysts for water splitting which comprises the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, Se-NiSe₂ hybrid nanosheets with a self-regulated ratio of ionic Se (I-Se) to elemental Se (E-Se) are designed on carbon cloth by solution synthesis and hydrothermal processing. The effects of the I-Se/E-Se ratios on the electrocatalytic characteristics in HER and OER are investigated systematically both experimentally and theoretically. The optimized bifunctional electrocatalyst needs overpotentials of only 133 mV to deliver an HER current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and 350 mV to generate an OER current density of 100 mA cm^-2 in 1.0 mol L^-1 KOH. Based on the density-functional theory calculation, surface-adsorbed E-Se is beneficial to optimizing the electron environment and the adsorption/desorption free energy of hydrogen/water of the hybrid catalyst, consequently facilitating the electrocatalytic water splitting process. There is a proper I-Se/E-Se ratio to improve the catalytic activity and kinetics of the reaction and the optimized E-Se adsorption amount can balance the interactions between I-Se and E-Se, so that the catalyst can achieve appropriate Se-H binding and active site exposure for the excellent electrocatalytic activity. To demonstrate the practicality, the assembled symmetrical device can be powered by an AA battery to produce hydrogen and oxygen synchronously. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the catalytic mechanism of transition metal selenides in water splitting and insights into the design of high-efficiency and low-cost electrocatalysts in energy-related applications.

Key words: Nickel selenide, Self-regulation, Bifunctional electrocatalysst, Water splitting, Alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Xiang Peng, Yujiao Yan, Shijian Xiong, Yaping Miao, Jing Wen, Zhitian Liu, Biao Gao, Liangsheng Hu, Paul K. Chu. Se-NiSe₂ hybrid nanosheet arrays with self-regulated elemental Se for efficient alkaline water splitting[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 118: 136-143.

Figures/Tables 9

Scheme 1. Schematic illustration of the preparation of the Se-NiSe2 hybrid nanosheet electrocatalyst and application as a bifunctional water splitting electrocatalyst.

Fig. 1. SEM images: (a) Ni-OH/CC and (b) NiSe2/CC-180 with the insets showing the corresponding high-resolution images; (c) XRD patterns (* representing orthorhombic NiSe2, JCPDS No. 18-0886) and (d) selected patterns from the dotted rectangular box in (c) of NiSe2/CC selenized at different temperatures.

Fig. 2. (a) TEM image, (b) HR-TEM (yellow circles showing the amorphous phase), (c) Raman scattering spectrum of NiSe2/CC-180.

Fig. 3. High-resolution XPS spectra of Se 3d: (a) NiSe2/CC-140, (b) NiSe2/CC-160, (c) NiSe2/CC-180, (d) NiSe2/CC-200. I-Se represents the ionic selenium in NiSe2 and E-Se represents elemental selenium adsorbed on the composite electrocatalysts. (e) Calculated ratios of I-Se/E-Se for the different samples.

Fig. 4. Electrochemical characteristics: (a) polarization curves, (b) Tafel slopes, (c) double-layer capacitance (Cdl) plots, (d) Nyquist plots and corresponding circuit model; (e) Stability of the NiSe2/CC-180 electrocatalyst in HER with the inset showing the polarization curves before and after cycling; (f) Comparison of the HER characteristics of recently reported electrocatalysts in 1 mol L-1 KOH.

Fig. 5. Calculated charge density distributions: (a) pristine NiSe2 and (b) NiSe2-Se (2:1); (c) Gibbs free energy diagram for alkaline HER on the Se sites of NiSe2 for different I-Se/E-Se ratios (* representing the clean surface).

Fig. 6. Optimized surface atom distributions of the electrocatalysts with different I-Se/E-Se ratios: (a) clean NiSe2, (b) NiSe2-Se (4:1), (c) NiSe2-Se (2:1), (d) NiSe2-Se (1:1) [Red: adsorbed E-Se, brown: I-Se in NiSe2, grey: Ni in NiSe2]. (e) Electrocatalytic mechanism of NiSe2 with different I-Se/E-Se ratios in alkaline HER.

Fig. 7. OER performance of the electrocatalysts in 1 mol L-1 KOH aqueous solution: (a) polarization curves, (b) Tafel slopes, (c) Nyquist plots and corresponding circuit of the electrocatalysts, (d) stability of the NiSe2/CC-180 electrocatalyst in OER with inset showing the polarization curves before and after cycling.

Fig. 8. (a) Overall water splitting characteristics of the device with NiSe2/CC-180 as both the anode and cathode; (b) Comparison of the voltage required to generate a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in overall water splitting with those of recently reported non-precious transition metal electrocatalyst couples: (1) NiSe2/CC-180 in this work, (2) FeSe2/NF [39], (3) Ultra-thin non-layered NiSe [40], (4) Ni0.5Se-OER//Ni0.75Se-HER [41], (5) NiSe/NF [29], (6) Co7Se8 nanostructures [42], (7) Ni3Se2/NiSe [43], (8) 3D Se-(NiCo)Sx/(OH)x nanosheets [44], (9) Ni-Co-P hollow nanobricks [45], (10) Co(OH)2@NCNTs@NF [46]; (c) Photo of the water splitting system powered by an AA battery.

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Se-NiSe₂ hybrid nanosheet arrays with self-regulated elemental Se for efficient alkaline water splitting

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