Incorporating ultra-small N-doped Mo2C nanoparticles onto 3D N-doped flower-like carbon nanospheres for robust electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Developing highly-efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts plays a crucial role in realizing the hydrogen production from electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, ultra-small and nitrogen-doped molybdenum carbide (N-Mo2C) nanoparticles with oxidized surfaces are facilely synthesized with the assistance of cationic surfactants and simultaneously anchored onto three-dimensional nitrogen-doped flower-like carbon nanospheres (NFCNS), and the N-Mo2C/NFCNS composites are further investigated as HER electrocatalysts. Analysis results reveal that nitrogen atoms are doped into both the lattice and the carbon framework of Mo2C, resulting in low desorption energy of Mo-H bond for the easy evolution of hydrogen gas. Moreover, the high specific area of NFCNS enables enrichment of N-Mo2C nanoparticles, and its open framework facilitates fast ion diffusion. As a result, the N-Mo2C/NFCNS composites exhibit impressive HER activities with low overpotential, small Tafel slope, and excellent durability in both acidic and alkaline media, which outperform most of the reported Mo-based HER catalysts and are also highly comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Not limited to HER electrocatalysts, this work should open a new avenue for tailoring highly-efficient carbon/metal compounds-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, etc.