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Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Applied Environmental Photocatalysis, Changsha University, Changsha, 410022, China
Interests: green hydrogen production technology; atomic-level catalyst modification; thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen evolution; nanomaterials; renewable energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogen (H₂) is considered as a green energy carrier with the highest energy density per unit mass, and water is the only product of its combustion. Today, most H₂ is produced from fossil resources through a steam reforming process that involves significant fossil fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. Thus, efficient and sustainable H₂ production technologies are urgently needed, although some green hydrogen production technologies (such as photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, piezocatalysis, etc.) have attracted extensive attention and been widely regarded as promising strategies to solve the increasing global energy crisis and environmental problems. The large-scale application for green hydrogen production technologies is severely restricted by the low efficiency, poor stability and high production costs to date. Hence, seeking highly active, stable and low-cost catalysts is of great significance for realizing industrial-scale H₂ generation.

This Special Issue focuses on exploiting new materials; modifying the existing materials (such as textural and crystal modification, interfacial heterostructure construction, elements doping, noble metal loading, surface sensitization and so on); demonstrating the thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen evolution; and revealing the underlying catalytic mechanism. Potential topics include but are not limited to the above aspects. The issue aims to attract researchers in order to improve hydrogen evolution efficiency and promote industrialized application for green hydrogen production technology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wenhui Feng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

photocatalysis
electrocatalysis
piezocatalysis
single-atom catalysis
heterogeneous catalysts
surface/interface engineering
defect engineering
new materials
thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen evolution

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

MOF-Derived CoNi Nanoalloy Particles Encapsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as Superdurable Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst

and

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(4), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13040715 - 13 Feb 2023

Viewed by 611

Abstract

Carbon-encapsulated transition metal catalysts have caught the interest of researchers in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their distinctive architectures and highly tunable electronic structures. In this work, we synthesized N-doped carbon encapsulated with CoNi nanoalloy particles ([email protected]) as the electrocatalysts. The metal-organic skeleton ZIF-67 nanocubes were first synthesized, and then Ni²⁺ ions were inserted to generate CoNi-ZIF precursors by a simple ion-exchange route, which was followed by pyrolysis and with urea for the introduction of nitrogen (N) at a low temperature to synthesize [email protected] composites. The results reveal that ZIF-67 pyrolysis can dope more N atoms in the carbon skeleton and that the pyrolysis temperature influences the ORR and OER performances. The sample prepared by [email protected] pyrolysis at 650 °C has a high N content (9.70%) and a large specific surface area (167 m² g⁻¹), with a positive ORR onset potential (Eonset) of 0.89 V vs. RHE and half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.81 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KOH, and the overpotential of the OER measured in 1 M KOH was only 286 mV at 10 mA cm⁻². The highly efficient bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts synthesized by this method can offer some insights into the design and synthesis of complex metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) hybrid structures and their derivatives as functional materials in energy storage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Materials as Catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction)

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Open AccessArticle

One-Pot Facile Synthesis of CuO–CdWO₄ Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Shaeel Ahmed Althabaiti

Maqsood Ahmad Malik

Manoj Kumar Khanna

Salem Mohamed Bawaked

Katabathini Narasimharao

Soad Zahir Al-Sheheri

Bushra Fatima

and

Sharf Ilahi Siddiqui

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(24), 4472; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12244472 - 16 Dec 2022

Viewed by 643

Abstract

Hydrogen (H₂) is a well-known renewable energy source that produces water upon its burning, leaving no harmful emissions. Nanotechnology is utilized to increase hydrogen production using sacrificial reagents. It is an interesting task to develop photocatalysts that are effective, reliable, and affordable for producing H₂ from methanol and acetic acid. In the present study, CuO, CdWO₄, and CuO–CdWO₄ nanocomposite heterostructures were prepared using a cost-efficient, enviro-friendly, and facile green chemistry-based approach. The prepared CuO, CdWO₄, and CuO–CdWO₄ nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction pattern, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern, N₂ physisorption, photoluminescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The synthesized photocatalysts were utilized for photocatalytic H₂ production using aqueous methanol and acetic acid as the sacrificial reagents under visible light irradiation. The influence of different variables, including visible light irradiation time, catalyst dosage, concentration of sacrificial reagents, and reusability of catalysts, was studied. The maximum H₂ was observed while using methanol as a sacrificial agent over CuO–CdWO₄ nanocomposite. This enhancement was due to the faster charge separation, higher visible light absorption, and synergistic effect between the CuO–CdWO₄ nanocomposite and methanol. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Materials as Catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction)

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