Background
The hydrogen energy is used as a green renewable energy source, and compared with other traditional fossil fuels such as coal and the like, the hydrogen energy has the characteristics of cleanness, high efficiency and the like. At present, among various hydrogen evolution methods, electrochemical water decomposition hydrogen production is one of the most promising methods at present, and is extensively and deeply studied. However, among the effective electrocatalysts currently used for hydrogen evolution reactions, the best electrocatalysts are generally noble metal-based catalysts (e.g., Pt-based catalysts), but the scarcity and expensive price of noble metals limits their widespread development; the non-noble metal-based material is adopted to replace a noble metal catalyst to carry out high-efficiency electrolysis water hydrogen production, and has profound significance for hydrogen energy preparation. In recent years, much research effort has been devoted to the development of low cost non-noble metal hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts such as transition metal oxides, carbides, phosphides and selenides to replace traditional noble metal catalysts.
Among these alternative catalysts, transition metal selenides such as CoSe2,Co0.85Se and NiSe2Isoelectric catalysts have been reported many times to have good catalytic performance in the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. For example, Chinese patent publication No. CN106558689A discloses a bicontinuous CoSe2/NiSe2The preparation method of the nano composite material comprises the steps of firstly using CoSO4·7H2O、NiSO4·6H2O, selenium powder, water, ethanol and hydrazine hydrate are used as raw materials, and the metal selenide nano composite material is prepared in situ by an electrochemical method; detailed description of the inventionThe following were used: (1) according to a certain mole ratio adding CoSO4·7H2O and NiSO4·6H2Adding O into water, and stirring until the O is completely dissolved; (2) adding ethanol into the solution obtained in the step (1), adding selenium powder, and fully stirring; carrying out solvothermal reaction to obtain CoNiSe4A solid solution material; then to CoNiSe4Performing smear, charging and discharging with constant current after battery loading to obtain CoSe2/NiSe2A nanocomposite material.
For example, Chinese patent publication No. CN111482189A discloses a core-shell NiSe structure2A preparation method of @ NC electrocatalytic material and application thereof are characterized in that hydrazine hydrate is adopted as a reducing agent, selenium powder is adopted as a selenium source, a metal organic framework substance is adopted as a precursor, and selective selenization reaction is carried out on the metal organic framework of a mixed ligand through hydrothermal reaction. And then a series of adjustable nitrogen-doped carbon-coated cubic phase core-shell nickel diselenide octahedral materials are prepared by further high-temperature calcination treatment. Yongqiang Zhao et al prepared a three-dimensional cobalt selenide electrode by simultaneously encapsulating cobalt foil and selenium powder and heat-treating the same, and showed a good electrocatalytic activity under an alkaline condition (adv. energy mater.2018,8,1801926).
However, the performance of pure cobalt selenide as an electrocatalyst is far from that of commercial noble metal catalysts such as Pt/C. Therefore, the transition metal doped cobalt selenide electrocatalyst coated by the carbon shell and having defects can effectively improve the adsorption and dissociation capability of the electrocatalyst on water molecules, and meanwhile, the transition metal doping can further optimize the electronic structure of cobalt selenide, so that the electrocatalytic activity is further improved, and the electrocatalyst is of great significance for replacing the traditional commercial noble metal catalyst.
Disclosure of Invention
Aiming at the problem that the catalytic activity of a pure cobalt selenide catalyst in the prior art needs to be improved, the invention provides a preparation method of a defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst, and the obtained catalyst has excellent electrocatalytic activity for cathode hydrogen evolution reaction of electrolyzed water under an alkaline condition and still has good stability under long-term work.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the technical scheme that:
a preparation method of a defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst comprises the following steps:
(1) dissolving cobalt salt and molybdate, adding a 2-methylimidazole solution, stirring, mixing, centrifuging and drying to obtain a molybdenum-doped cobalt-based metal organic framework precursor;
(2) mixing the precursor prepared in the step (1) with selenium powder, grinding and calcining to obtain a molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst;
(3) and (3) carrying out heat treatment on the catalyst prepared in the step (2) to obtain the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst.
The preparation principle of the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst provided by the invention is as follows: through self-assembly, divalent cobalt and 2-methylimidazole coordinate to form an organic metal framework compound, molybdate ions are adsorbed at the same time to form a molybdenum-doped cobalt-based metal organic framework compound, the molybdenum-doped cobalt-based metal organic framework compound is uniformly mixed with selenium powder and then calcined at high temperature, and the molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide coated by nitrogen-doped nano carbon is constructed. Removing part of selenium in the cobalt selenide through low-temperature hydrogen heat treatment to form a selenium defect; the selenium defect in the catalyst is beneficial to the adsorption and the desorption of water molecules, and the electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst can be further improved.
Meanwhile, the doping of molybdenum and the selenium defect can further regulate and control d-orbital electrons of cobalt, and catalytic reaction is facilitated. Specifically, the selenium defect can better adsorb water molecules on the surface of the catalyst, so that hydrogen adsorption is more favorably formed, the molybdenum doping can weaken the adsorption of the adsorbed hydrogen on the catalyst, so that the generated hydrogen is easier to desorb, and the combined action of the selenium defect and the catalyst accelerates the whole hydrogen evolution process.
The cobalt salt or molybdate is soluble salt, and the molybdate comprises sodium molybdate, ammonium molybdate and the like.
The cobalt salt includes nitrate, chloride, sulfate, hydrate of cobalt, etc., such as cobalt nitrate hexahydrate, cobalt chloride hexahydrate, cobalt sulfate heptahydrate, etc.
Compared with other rare metals, the catalyst disclosed by the invention has the advantages that the molybdenum doping is adopted, the electronic structure of cobalt metal can be better regulated and controlled, the over-strong adsorption capacity of the cobalt metal on hydrogen is weakened, the desorption of hydrogen is facilitated, and the hydrogen production rate can be improved.
The molar ratio of the cobalt salt to the molybdenum salt is 1-8: 1, when the content of molybdenum is too low, due to the fact that the doping amount of the molybdenum is too small, the electronic structure of cobalt which is a metal active site in the whole catalyst is affected, the catalytic activity of the cobalt is not obviously improved, and when the content of the molybdenum is too high, a molybdenum selenide and cobalt selenide compound is easily generated, the catalytic activity site of the molybdenum selenide and cobalt selenide compound is changed, the catalytic activity of the molybdenum selenide and cobalt selenide compound is reduced, and the follow-up research on a catalytic mechanism is not facilitated.
The ratio of the cobalt salt to the 2-methylimidazole is 1: 2-4 in a molar ratio. The ratio of the two determines the loading amount of the metal active sites in the final carbon electrocatalyst, for example, if the ratio of cobalt salt is too high, too much metal is loaded in the final metal framework, so that the accumulation is easy to occur and the specific surface area is reduced, thereby reducing the activity of the catalyst.
The stirring time in the step (1) is 2-6 hours, magnetic stirring and ultrasonic are adopted to promote the cobalt salt and the molybdate to be uniformly dispersed in the 2-methylimidazole, and the obtained catalyst has better dispersion of active sites and higher catalytic activity.
In the step (1), in the mixed solution obtained after the cobalt salt and the molybdate are dissolved, the mass concentration of the cobalt salt is 10-20 g/L, the mass concentration of the molybdate is 1-5 g/L, and the mass concentration of the added 2-methylimidazole solution is 15-45 g/L.
Preferably, in the mixed solution after the cobalt salt and the molybdate are dissolved, the mass concentration of the cobalt salt is 15g/L, the mass concentration of the molybdate is 2.75g/L, and the mass concentration of the added 2-methylimidazole solution is 32.5 g/L.
The mass ratio of the precursor to the selenium powder in the step (2) is 1: 1-4. When the content of the selenium powder is too small, the whole selenization degree is affected, so that the amount of the selenium powder is controlled to be sufficient.
The calcining temperature in the step (2) is 700-1000 ℃, and the calcining time is 1.5-3 h. High-temperature carbonization is beneficial to the electrical conductivity of the whole catalyst.
The temperature of the heat treatment in the step (3) is 300-500 ℃, and the heat treatment is carried outThe treatment time is 1.5-3H, and the atmosphere condition is H2and/Ar. Preferably, the atmosphere condition of the heat treatment is a mixed gas of hydrogen and helium in a volume ratio of 1: 8-9. The temperature and the time are controlled to better form selenium defects, metal cobalt particles can be reduced to form at an overhigh temperature, selenium cannot be taken away at a too low temperature, and the defects cannot be formed.
Preferably, the molar ratio of the cobalt salt to the molybdate is 3-5: 1, the mass ratio of the precursor to the selenium powder is 1: 1.5-3, the calcining temperature is 800-950 ℃, and the heat treatment temperature is 350-450 ℃. Under the condition, the proportion of the cobalt salt, the molybdate, the 2-methylimidazole and the selenium powder is optimal, and the obtained catalyst has excellent performance.
Further preferably, the molar ratio of the cobalt salt to the molybdate is 4:1, the mass ratio of the precursor to the selenium powder is 1:2, the calcining temperature is 850-900 ℃, and the heat treatment temperature is 400-450 ℃.
The invention also provides a defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst prepared by the preparation method, and the catalyst can be represented by the chemical formula: Mo-Co0.85SeVSeand/NC represents, wherein, Mo-Co0.85Se is molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide; VSe selenium defect, NC nitrogen doped carbon shell; the catalyst consists of a nitrogen-doped nano carbon shell and molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide particles which are embedded in the carbon shell and have defects, and due to the doping of molybdenum and the defects of selenium, the adsorption of the surface of the catalyst on water molecules is improved, the adsorption capacity of adsorbed hydrogen on the surface of the catalyst is weakened, the desorption process of hydrogen is facilitated, and the catalytic activity of the catalyst is obviously improved.
The defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst can be used as a working electrode in the application of electrolysis water cathode hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solution.
In the electrolytic water cathode hydrogen evolution reaction, a three-electrode system is adopted, specifically, an Ag/AgCl electrode is used as a reference electrode, a carbon rod is used as a counter electrode, a glassy carbon electrode covered by the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst provided by the invention is used as a working electrode, and a 1.0M potassium hydroxide solution is used as an electrolyte.
The defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst provided by the invention is coated on the surface of the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide by using nitrogen-doped nano carbon, so that the electrode material shows good conductivity, and meanwhile, the nitrogen-doped nano carbon material has a higher specific surface area, which is beneficial to the dispersion of catalytic active sites, and further the electrocatalytic activity of the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide is increased.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:
(1) the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst provided by the invention can be used for electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen in an alkaline electrolyte and has high electrocatalytic activity and good stability. At a current density of 10mA cm-2In the process, the overpotential of the cathode is only about 160mV, and the 12h can be maintained without obvious potential attenuation, so that the possibility is provided for further improving the development and utilization of hydrogen energy;
(2) according to the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon electrocatalyst, the electronic structure of cobalt selenide is optimized by doping molybdenum, so that the hydrogen evolution reaction is facilitated;
(3) according to the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon electrocatalyst provided by the invention, partial selenium defects appear on the surface of cobalt selenide through low-temperature hydrogen heat treatment, so that adsorption and dissociation of water molecules are facilitated, and the reaction rate of electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen is further accelerated.
Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described in detail with reference to the following embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that they can make modifications and equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. The raw materials used in the following embodiments are all commercially available.
Example 1
(1) Weighing 0.6g of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate solid particles and 0.11g of sodium molybdate solid particles, dissolving in 40mL of deionized water solution, and carrying out ultrasonic treatment for 20min for later use; weighing 1.3g of 2-methylimidazole powder, dissolving in 40mL of deionized water solution, and uniformly stirring;
(2) pouring the mixed solution of cobalt nitrate and sodium molybdate into the prepared 2-methylimidazole solution, and stirring for 4 hours; centrifugally washing, and drying at 60 ℃ for 20h to obtain a precursor of the cobalt-based metal organic framework doped with molybdenum;
(3) weighing the prepared molybdenum-doped cobalt-based organic metal framework precursor and selenium powder, uniformly mixing according to the mass ratio of 1:2, placing in a tubular furnace for high-temperature calcination, and heating at 900 ℃ for 2 h; after the reaction is finished, cooling to room temperature to obtain the molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon catalyst;
(4) the prepared molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon is placed in a tube furnace and put in H2Heating at 400 ℃ for 2h under the atmosphere of/Ar (10%/90%); after the reaction is finished, cooling to room temperature to obtain the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon catalyst which is marked as Mo-Co0.85SeVSe/NC。
The prepared catalyst is observed for the microscopic morphology through a scanning electron microscope SEM and a transmission electron microscope TEM, the SEM result is shown in figure 1, and the TEM image is shown in figure 2. From fig. 1-2, it can be seen that the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon nanoparticles are uniformly wrapped by the nanocarbon shell. The X-ray diffraction XRD pattern of the molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon catalyst rich in defects prepared in this example is shown in fig. 3, and it can be seen that the catalyst still well compounds the characteristic peak of cobalt selenide, which proves that the main structure of the molybdenum-doped catalyst is not changed and the cobalt selenide molybdenum selenide complex is not formed.
Comparative example 1
According to the process of the example 1, the molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nano carbon catalyst is obtained without the step (4) and is marked as Mo-Co0.85Se/NC。
Comparative example 2
The process of example 1 was followed except that sodium molybdate was not added in step (1) and step (4) was not performed to obtain cobalt selenide/nanocarbon catalyst, noted as Co0.85Se/NC。
Comparative example 3
The procedure was followed as in example 1 except that in step (1) sodium molybdate was replaced with 0.15g of nickel nitrate hexahydrate to yield the nickel-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon catalyst, noted Ni-Co0.85Se/NC。
Comparative example 4
The process as in example 1 except that in step (1) sodium molybdate was replaced with 0.2g of nickel iron nitrate nonahydrate to obtain the iron-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon catalyst noted as Fe-Co0.85Se/NC。
Application example
(1) Using a three-electrode system, the glassy carbon electrode covered with the catalyst prepared in example 1 or comparative examples 1-4 was the working electrode, the counter electrode was a carbon rod, the reference electrode was a saturated Ag/AgCl electrode, and the electrolyte was 1.0M KOH;
(2) CV activation: the electrochemical workstation of Shanghai Chenghua CHI 760E was used, and nitrogen was introduced into the electrolyte for 30min before the test. Adopting CV program, the test interval is 0-0.8V vs. RHE, and the sweep rate is 50mV s-1And the electrode reaches a steady state after 40 cycles.
After the catalysts prepared in example 1 and comparative examples 1 to 4 were activated by the Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) test, the switching procedure was the LSV procedure, the test interval was 0 to-0.8V vs. RHE, the sweep rate was 5mV/s, and the overpotential was 0V and 10mA cm with respect to the reversible hydrogen electrode-2The difference in potential was measured. As shown in FIG. 4, the present example provides Mo-Co0.85SeVSecatalyst/NC and Mo-Co0.85Se/NC,Ni-Co0.85Se/NC,Fe-Co0.85Se/NC and Co0.85The polarization curve of the hydrogen evolution reaction of Se/NC in 1.0M KOH solution by electrolysis of water is shown in FIG. 4. from FIG. 4, it can be seen that in alkaline electrolyte, Mo-Co0.85SeVSeThe overpotential of the/NC catalyst is only 160mV, and the effect is obviously better than that of the nickel or iron doped catalyst.
The catalyst prepared in example 1 was subjected to stability test
After CV activation, the switching process was an ISTEP process with current set to 0.014A and time set to 43200 s. As shown in fig. 5, the defect-rich molybdenum-doped cobalt selenide/nanocarbon catalyst showed little potential change, demonstrating its good catalytic stability.