Yuquan He

Self-supported NiMo hollow nanorod array: an efficient 3D bifunctional catalytic electrode for overall water splitting

Large-scale industrial application of electrochemical water splitting calls for remarkable non-noble metal electrocatalysts. Herein, we report on the synthesis of a NiMo-alloy hollow nanorod array supported on Ti mesh (NiMo HNRs/TiM) using a template-assisted electrodeposition method. The NiMo HNRs/TiM behaves as a durable efficient oxygen evolution anode with 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 310 mV in 1.0 M KOH. Coupled with its superior catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution with 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 92 mV, we made an alkaline electrolyzer using this bifunctional electrode with 10 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage of 1.64 V.

Highly efficient electrochemical hydrogen evolution based on nickel diselenide nanowall film.

In this letter, we report on hydrothermal growth of nickel diselenide nanowall film on carbon cloth (NiSe2 NW/CC) through topotactic transformation from a Ni(OH)2 precursor based on anion exchange reactions. When tested as an integrated 3D hydrogen-evolving cathode in strongly acidic media, NiSe2 NW/CC exhibits outstanding catalytic activity superior to its powder counterpart and strong long-term durability. It displays 10 and 100 mA cm(-2) at overpotentials of 145 and 183 mV, respectively, with its catalytic activity being retained for 40 h.

Amorphous Ni-B alloy nanoparticle film on Ni foam: rapid alternately dipping deposition for efficient overall water splitting

It is highly attractive, but still remains challenging, to develop noble metal-free bifunctional electrocatalysts efficient for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. In this letter, we describe the rapid electroless deposition of amorphous Ni-B nanoparticle film on Ni foam (Ni-B/Ni foam) by alternative dipping of Ni foam into Ni precursor and reducing solutions. This Ni-B/Ni foam acts as an efficient and durable 3D catalytic electrode for water splitting, affording 100 mA cm(-2) at 360 mV overpotential for the OER and 20 mA cm(-2) at 125 mV overpotential for the HER in 1.0 M KOH, and its two-electrode electrolyzer demands a cell voltage of 1.69 V to afford 15 mA cm(-2) water-splitting current. Moreover, the catalyst loading can be easily tuned and this alternately dipping deposition technique works universally for other conductive substrates.

Nanoporous molybdenum carbide nanowires: a novel sensing platform for DNA detection

In this communication, a novel and highly sensitive DNA sensor based on nanoporous molybdenum carbide nanowires (Mo2C NWs) is presented. The Mo2C NWs were synthesized on a large scale via pyrolysis of a MoOx/amine hybrid precursor under an inert atmosphere. The enriched nanoporosity and the large active surface of these highly dispersed nanowires with uniform Mo2C nanocrystallites make them an efficient nanosensor, leading to their high sensitivity with a detection limit of 50 pM and good selectivity.