title: Cobalt-embedded nitrogen-rich carbon nanotubes efficiently catalyze hydrogen evolution reaction at all pH values.
abstract: Despite being technically possible, splitting water to generate hydrogen is still practically unfeasible due mainly to the lack of sustainable and efficient catalysts for the half reactions involved. Herein we report the synthesis of cobalt-embedded nitrogen-rich carbon nanotubes (NRCNTs) that 1) can efficiently electrocatalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with activities close to that of Pt and 2) function well under acidic, neutral or basic media alike, allowing them to be coupled with the best available oxygen-evolving catalysts-which also play crucial roles in the overall water-splitting reaction. The materials are synthesized by a simple, easily scalable synthetic route involving thermal treatment of Co(2+) -embedded graphitic carbon nitride derived from inexpensive starting materials (dicyandiamide and CoCl2 ). The materials' efficient catalytic activity is mainly attributed to their nitrogen dopants and concomitant structural defects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (USA); Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (USA); State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis & Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China).
authors.forename: Xiaoxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Xiaoxi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Anandarup
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goswami
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Bhaskar R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Sathe
authors.forename: Eliška
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mikmeková
authors.forename: Tewodros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asefa
keywords: carbon nanotubes; cobalt nanoparticles; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; water splitting