Interfacial Engineering of 3D Hollow Mo-Based Carbide/Nitride Nanostructures

Molybdenum carbide and nitride nanocrystals have been widely recognized as ideal electrocatalyst materials for water splitting. Furthermore, the interfacial engineering strategy can effectively tune their physical and chemical properties to improve performance. Herein, we produced N-doped molybdenum carbide nanosheets on carbonized melamine (N-doped Mo2C@CN) and 3D hollow Mo2C–Mo2N nanostructures (3D H–Mo2C–Mo2N) with tuneable interfacial properties via high-temperature treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that Mo2C and Mo2N nanocrystals in 3D hollow nanostructures are chemically bonded with each other and produce stable heterostructures. The 3D H–Mo2C–Mo2N nanostructures demonstrate lower onset potential and overpotential at a current density of 10 mV cm–2 than the N-doped Mo2C@CN nanostructure due to its higher active sites and improved interfacial charge transfer. The current work presents a strategy to tune metal carbide/nitride nanostructures and interfacial properties for the production of high-performance energy materials.