题目：

Ultrasmall and Phase-Pure W₂C Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

作者：

Qiufang Gong^1,*, Yu Wang^2,*, Qi Hu³, Jigang Zhou⁴, Renfei Feng⁴, Paul N. Duchesne⁵, Peng Zhang⁵, Fengjiao Chen¹, Na Han¹, Yafei Li², Chuanhong Jin³, Yanguang Li¹ & Shuit-Tong Lee¹

单位：

¹Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.

²College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.

³State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China.

⁴Canadian Light Source Inc., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0X4.

⁵Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada NS B3H 4R2.

摘要：

Earlier research has been primarily focused on WC as one of the most promising earth-abundant electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), whereas the other compound in this carbide family―W₂C―has received far less attention. Our theoretical calculations suggest that such a focus is misplaced and W₂C is potentially more HER-active than WC. Nevertheless, the preparation of phase pure and sintering-free W₂C nanostructures represents a formidable challenge. Here we develop an improved carburization method and successfully prepare ultrasmall and phase-pure W₂C nanoparticles. When evaluated for HER electrocatalysis, W₂C nanoparticles exhibit a small onset overpotential of 50 mV, a Tafel slope of 45 mVdec^-1 and outstanding long-term cycling stability, which are dramatically improved over all existing WC-based materials. In addition, the integration of W₂C nanoparticles with p-type Si nanowires enables highly active and sustainable solar-driven hydrogen production. Our results highlight the great potential of this traditionally non-popular material in HER electrocatalysis.

影响因子：

11.329

分区情况：

1区

链接：

http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13216

责任编辑：向丹婷  联系方式：dtxiang@suda.edu.cn