title: Nanoporous Graphene with Single-Atom Nickel Dopants: An Efficient and Stable Catalyst for Electrochemical Hydrogen Production.
abstract: Single-atom nickel dopants anchored to three-dimensional nanoporous graphene can be used as catalysts of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic solutions. In contrast to conventional nickel-based catalysts and graphene, this material shows superior HER catalysis with a low overpotential of approximately 50 mV and a Tafel slope of 45 mV dec(-1) in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, together with excellent cycling stability. Experimental and theoretical investigations suggest that the unusual catalytic performance of this catalyst is due to sp-d orbital charge transfer between the Ni dopants and the surrounding carbon atoms. The resultant local structure with empty C-Ni hybrid orbitals is catalytically active and electrochemically stable.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China).
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan).
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education of China, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 (China).
authors.forename: Weitao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan).
authors.forename: Yongwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan).
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan).
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan).
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education of China, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 (China). ztang@ee.ecnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan). mwchen@wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012 (Japan). mwchen@wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Mingwei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: electrocatalysis; graphene; hydrogen evolution reaction; nanoporosity; nickel doping