Kinetics regulation enables novel nanostructured materials for water electrolysis

Title : Kinetics regulation enables novel nanostructured materials for water electrolysis

Abstract:

Novel nanostructured materials have attracted intense research interests in the field of electrochemical catalysis. Many efforts have been devoted to achieving novel nanostructured materials, among which the regulation of reaction kinetics plays a key role in constructing unconventional nanostructures. Understanding how the structures are influenced by the varied reaction kinetics, has therefore become critically important. Within this context, we show that the kinetics regulation has enabled unconventional and novel nanostructures that exhibit distinct performances towards water electrolysis, that are oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Particularly, several novel nanostructured materials, including ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nonlayered NiSe nanosheets, high-index faceted Fe₂O₃ nanocrystals, multi-component Co complex, and 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets are obtained by acidity regulation, which exhibit unique merits beyond the traditional ones. For example, ultrathin 2D nonlayered nanomaterials are endowed with chemically active surfaces because they are occupied with dangling bonds; high-index facets are endowed with favourable atomic arrangement, termination, and coordination; 2D MOF nanosheets enable shortened electron pathways, facilitated diffusion of electrolyte and the access to interior catalytic sites. All these features are beneficial for electrochemical catalytic reactions. By means of regulating the reaction kinetics, these novel nanostructured materials have been readily realized, which showed advanced electrocatalytic performance.

Audience take-away:

• A strategy to regulate the structure of nanomaterial in an atomic level.
• A new family of metal precursor is proposed to prepare nanosized MOFs.
• A strategy to construct high-index facet exposed crystal is provided.
• Crystal facet as a descriptor for oxygen evolution reaction catalysis is elucidated.

Biography:

Dr. Wu studied Inorganic Chemistry at the Fudan University, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree under the guidance of Prof. Gengfeng Zheng in 2016. He then joined the research group of Prof. Ghim Wei Ho at the National University of Singapore and Prof. Husam N. Alshareef at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as a postdoctoral fellow. He joined Shandong University as a full professor in 2020. Dr. Wu has published more than 30 research articles in SCI journals (h-index 21).