Electrochemically Inert g‐C3N4 Promotes Water Oxidation Catalysis. (1st December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Yaping; Zhou, Qian; Zhao, Guoqiang; Yu, Zhenwei; Wang, Xiaolin; Dou, Shi Xue; Sun, Wenping
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 28:Number 5(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2017-12-01
• Subjects: graphitic carbon nitride -- nickel hydroxide -- oxygen evolution reaction -- wettability; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201705583
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: Electrode surface wettability is critically important for heterogeneous electrochemical reactions taking place in aqueous and nonaqueous media. Herein, electrochemically inert g‐C3 N4 (GCN) is successfully demonstrated to significantly enhance water oxidation by constructing a superhydrophilic catalyst surface and promoting substantial exposure of active sites. As a proof‐of‐concept application, superhydrophilic GCN/Ni(OH)2 (GCNN) hybrids with monodispersed Ni(OH)2 nanoplates strongly anchored on GCN are synthesized for enhanced water oxidation catalysis. Owing to the superhydrophilicity of functionalized GCN, the surface wettability of GCNN (contact angle 0°) is substantially improved as compared with bare Ni(OH)2 (contact angle 21°). Besides, GCN nanosheets can effectively suppress Ni(OH)2 aggregation to help expose more active sites. Benefiting from the well‐defined catalyst surface, the optimal GCNN hybrid shows significantly enhanced electrochemical performance over bare Ni(OH)2 nanosheets, although GCN is electrochemically inert. In addition, similar catalytic performance promotion resulting from wettability improvement induced by incorporation of hydrophilic GCN is also successfully demonstrated on Co(OH)2 . The present results demonstrate that, in addition to developing new catalysts, building efficient surface chemistry is also vital to achieve extraordinary water oxidation performance. Abstract : Wettability matters : electrochemically inert functionalized g‐C3 N4 can significantly enhance water oxidation catalysis by constructing a superhydrophilic catalyst surface and promoting substantial exposure of active sites. This work opens a new avenue for the development of highly efficient catalysts for electrochemical reactions taking place in aqueous and nonaqueous media.