Biomass-derived electrocatalytic composites for hydrogen evolution

• DOI: 10.1039/c3ee40596f
• Publication Date: 2013-04-11T08:32:26Z
• Authors: Wei-Fu Chen; Shilpa Iyer; Shweta Iyer; Kotaro Sasaki; Chiu-Hui Wang; Yimei Zhu; James T. Muckerman; Etsuko Fujita
• Keywords: Electrolysis of water; Precious metal

The production of hydrogen from water electrolysis calls for an efficient non-precious-metal catalyst to make the process economically viable because high cost and limited supply currently used platinum catalysts. Here we present such a made earth-abundant molybdenum common, humble soybeans (MoSoy). This catalyst, composed catalytic β-Mo2C phase acid-proof γ-Mo2N phase, drives evolution reaction (HER) with low overpotentials, is highly durable in corrosive acidic solution over period exceeding 500 hours. When supported on graphene sheets, MoSoy exhibits very fast charge transfer kinetics, its performance rivals that noble-metal catalysts as Pt production. These findings prove soybean (as well other high-protein biomass) useful material generation incorporating abundant transition metal, thereby challenging exclusivity economy.