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Synthesis of Co2Ni/reduced graphene oxide composite aerogels as efficient hydrogen evolution catalysts

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
  • Published:
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Abstract

H2 is promising clean energy and electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction offers a sustainable route compared with traditional methane steam reforming. In this work, highly porous Co2Ni and Co2Ni/reduced graphene oxide composite aerogels are prepared by a simple in-situ reduction-gelation method in an aqueous solution. The synthesis starts with Co-Ni hydrogel which is prepared by mixing a strong reduction agent NaBH4 with the corresponding metal ions, while graphene oxide is reduced simultaneously in the gelation process. After supercritical drying, composite aerogels composed with interconnected binary Co2Ni nanoparticles network and reduced graphene oxide sheets are obtained. Such optimized composite alloy/reduced graphene oxide aerogels show good hydrogen evolution catalytic activity in alkaline electrolytes, which is highlighted by the low on-set overpotential (143 mV@10 mA/cm2) and small Tafel slope (85 mV/dec).

Graphical abstract

Highlights

  • 3D-porous Co2Ni/rGO composite aerogel was prepared by an in-situ reduction.

  • rGO increased the surface area and promoted the charge transfer capability.

  • The composite aerogel exhibited good HER catalytic activity.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the open fund of National Defense Key Discipline Laboratory of New Micro/Nano Devices and System Technology, Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. LY19E020014, and NSFC (Grant Nos. 21303162 and 11604295).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Silicon Material, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Jianhui Chen, Mingjia Zhi & Zhanglian Hong

  2. Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China

    Ziran Ye

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  1. Jianhui Chen
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I certify that this manuscript is original and has not been published and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication while being considered by Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology. And the study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time. No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support our conclusions. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were authors’ own. The submission has been received explicitly from all co-authors. And authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results.

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Chen, J., Ye, Z., Zhi, M. et al. Synthesis of Co2Ni/reduced graphene oxide composite aerogels as efficient hydrogen evolution catalysts. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 103, 515–525 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05840-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05840-x

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