Nanolaminated Ternary Transition Metal Carbide (MAX Phase)-Derived Core–Shell Structure Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution and Oxygen Evolution Reactions in Alkaline Electrolytes

The development of abundant, cheap, and highly active catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is important for hydrogen production. Nanolaminate ternary transition metal carbides (MAX phases) and their derived two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes) have attracted considerable interest for electrocatalyst applications. Herein, four new MAX@MXene core-shell structures (Ta2CoC@Ta2CTx, Ta2NiC@Ta2CTx, Nb2CoC@Nb2CTx, and Nb2NiC@Nb2CTx), in which the core region is Co/Ni-MAX phases while the edge region is MXenes, have been prepared. Under alkaline electrolyte conditions, the Ta2CoC@Ta2CTx core-shell structure showed an overpotential of 239 mV and excellent stability during the HER with MXenes as the active sites. For the OER, the Ta2CoC@Ta2CTx core-shell structure showed an overpotential of 373 mV and a small Tafel plot (56 mV dec-1), which maintained a bulk crystalline structure and generated Co-based oxyhydroxides that formed by surface reconstruction as active sites. Considering rich chemical compositions and structures of MAX phases, this work provides a new strategy for designing multifunctional electrocatalysts and also paves the way for further development of MAX phase-based materials for clean energy applications.