The scale of renewable energy challenges not only calls for highly efficient photovoltaic (PV) or photoelectrochemical (PEC) technologies but also abundant, inexpensive, and robust materials. Earth-abundant but highly active electrocatalysts need to be discovered to enable the most efficient and sustainable production of energy using electrocatalytic and PEC water splitting. We report nanostructures of several new earth-abundant electrocatalysts, such as exfoliated nanosheets of MoS2, WS2, MoSe2, for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and significantly enhanced their catalytic activity. We established nanotructures of ternary pyrite-type cobalt phosphosulfide (CoPS) as the best earth-abundant HER catalyst to date that does not contain expensive noble metals. For oxygen evolution reaction (OER), we have developed NiCo and NiFe layered double hydroxides (LDHs) that have been exfoliated into high surface area nanosheets to enhance their catalytic activity. We have studied their catalytic mechanism and further explored and discovered trimetallic LDH materials with more enhanced catalytic activity. These earth-abundant catalysts have been integrated with silicon and other semiconductors to enable the efficient solar-driven hydrogen generation devices using earth-abundant materials. Preliminary investigation of these materials to electrocatalytically upgrading the bio-mass derived chemicals will also be discussed.

Highly active earth-abundant electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting

254th National Meeting (2017)

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