title: Nitrogen-Doped Nanoporous Carbon Membranes with Co/CoP Janus-Type Nanocrystals as Hydrogen Evolution Electrode in Both Acidic and Alkaline Environments.
abstract: Self-supported electrocatalysts being generated and employed directly as electrodes for energy conversion has been intensively pursued in the fields of materials chemistry and energy. Herein, we report a synthetic strategy to prepare freestanding hierarchically structured, nitrogen-doped nanoporous graphitic carbon membranes functionalized with Janus-type Co/CoP nanocrystals (termed as HNDCM-Co/CoP), which were successfully applied as a highly efficient, binder-free electrode in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Benefited from multiple structural merits, such as a high degree of graphitization, three-dimensionally interconnected micro/meso/macropores, uniform nitrogen doping, well-dispersed Co/CoP nanocrystals, as well as the confinement effect of the thin carbon layer on the nanocrystals, HNDCM-Co/CoP exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity and long-term operation stability for HER under both acidic and alkaline conditions. As a proof-of-concept of practical usage, a 5.6 cm × 4 cm × 60 μm macroscopic piece of HNDCM-Co/CoP was prepared in our laboratory. Driven by a solar cell, electroreduction of water in alkaline conditions (pH 14) was performed, and H2was produced at a rate of 16 mL/min, demonstrating its potential as real-life energy conversion systems.
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beifang University of Nationalities , Yinchuan, Ningxia 750011, China.
authors.forename: Shixiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, The Chinese Academy of Sciences , Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, The Chinese Academy of Sciences , Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Debao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: UOW Electron Microscopy Centre, University of Wollongong , Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
authors.forename: Gilberto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casillas
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Yangyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zhixiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Lain-Jong
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloidal Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces , 14476 Potsdam, Germany.|Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science and Center for Advanced Materials Processing, Clarkson University , Potsdam, New York 13699, United States.
authors.forename: Jiayin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloidal Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces , 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonietti
authors.affiliation: Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0845-4827
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: N-doping; carbon membrane; electrocatalyst; hierarchical architecture; water splitting