Self-assembled CoSe 2 nanocrystals embedded into carbon nanowires as highly efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.02.089
• Publication Date: 2017-02-17T12:00:39Z
• Authors: Keren Zhou; Jiarui He; Xinqiang Wang; Jie Lin; Ye Jing; Wanli Zhang; Yuanfu Chen
• Keywords: Carbon fibers

Abstract Highly active, durable and inexpensive HER catalyst for electrochemical hydrogen evolution is a significant solution to cope with the energy crisis. Herein, self-assembled CoSe 2 nanocrystals embedded into carbon nanowires (CoSe 2 @CNWs) have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal reaction and subsequent selenylation process. Compared to bare CoSe 2 NWs, the CoSe 2 @CNWs show outstanding performance of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with a small Tafel slope of 41.3 mV dec −1 and a low onset potential of ∼130 mV vs RHE. Moreover, the CoSe 2 @CNWs also demonstrate good long-term stability in acidic electrolyte with a high current retention of 94.1% after 1500 cycles. The excellent HER performance of CoSe 2 @CNWs is attributed to the unique architecture constructed by CoSe 2 nanocrystals embedded into highly conductive carbon nanowires, which guarantees rich active reaction sites and facilitates the charge transportation in HER process.