Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Ultrasmall VN/Co heterostructure with optimized N active sites anchored in N-doped graphitic nanocarbons for boosting hydrogen evolution

This study is led by Dr. Chen (State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University). Two big problems of growing to deplete of traditional energy and acute environmental pollution have actuated an ongoing demand relating to the exploitation of sustainable green energy that endorses a global carbon-neutral strategy. Hydrogen fuel, which presents high energy density and non-pollution, has been foreseen as ideal green energy. In current industrial hydrogen production ways, electricity-driven water splitting is one of the most promising sustainable hydrogen production technologies, in which electric power can be converted from solar or wind. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one important half-rection of water splitting, and its art-of-state electrocatalysts highly depend on Pt and Pt-based noble metal materials with the near-zero onset potential and tiptop HER activity. However, the obvious shortcomings of precious metal electrocatalysts lie in the rare reserves and high prices, which largely restrict commercial applications. Therefore, the top priority is developing noble-metal-free substitutes with cost-effective and comparable catalytic performance for HER.