journal article·2023-10Open access

In‐Situ‐Grown Cu Dendrites Plasmonically Enhance Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution on Facet‐Engineered Cu2O

Hao Zhang, Jiefeng Diao, Yonghui Liu, Han Zhao, Bryan K. Y. Ng, Zhiyuan Ding, Zhenyu Guo, Huanxin Li, Jun Jia, Chang Yu, Fang Xie, Graeme Henkelman, Maria‐Magdalena Titirici, John Robertson, Peter Nellist, Chunying Duan, Yuzheng Guo, D. Jason Riley, Jieshan Qiu

Advanced Materials· Volume 35· Issue 42

Abstract

Abstract Herein, facet‐engineered Cu2O nanostructures are synthesized by wet chemical methods for electrocatalytic HER, and it is found that the octahedral Cu2O nanostructures with exposed crystal planes of (111) (O‐Cu2O) has the best hydrogen evolution performance. Operando Raman spectroscopy and ex‐situ characterization techniques showed that Cu2O is reduced during HER, in which Cu dendrites are grown on the surface of the Cu2O nanostructures, resulting in the better HER performance of O‐Cu2O after HER (O‐Cu2O‐A) compared with that of the as‐prepared O‐Cu2O. Under illumination, the onset potential of O‐Cu2O‐A is ca. 52 mV positive than that of O‐Cu2O, which is induced by the plasmon‐activated electrochemical system consisting of Cu2O and the in‐situ generated Cu dendrites. Incident photon‐to‐current efficiency (IPCE) measurements and the simulated UV–Vis spectrum demonstrate the hot electron injection (HEI) from Cu dendrites to Cu2O. Ab initio nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations revealed the transfer of photogenerated electrons (27 fs) from Cu dendrites to Cu2O nanostructures is faster than electron relaxation (170 fs), enhancing its surface plasmons activity, and the HEI of Cu dendrites increases the charge density of Cu2O. These make the energy level of the catalyst be closer to that of H+/H2, evidenced by the plasmon‐enhanced HER electrocatalytic activity.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Copper-based nanomaterials and applications · Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Advanced battery technologies research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Materials and London Center for Nanotechnology Imperial College London London SW7 2AZ UK

Chemistry Research Laboratory Department of Chemistry University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3TA UK

Department of Chemistry and the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin TX 78712 USA

School of Electrical Engineering and Automation Wuhan University Wuhan 430072 P. R. China

Department of Chemistry University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 Zurich CH‐8057 Switzerland

Wolfson Catalysis Centre Department of Chemistry University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3QR UK

Department of Materials University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3PH UK

Department of Chemical Engineering Imperial College London London SW7 2AZ UK

Department of Engineering University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 1PZ UK

State Key Lab of Fine Chemicals School of Chemical Engineering Liaoning Key Lab for Energy Materials and Chemical Engineering Dalian University of Technology Dalian 116024 P. R. China

School of Chemistry Dalian University of Technology Dalian Liaoning 116024 P. R. China

Funding

Imperial College London · China Scholarship Council · Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center · Welch Foundation

References (66)

Show source-provided references
1. 10.1038/s41570-016-000310.1038/s41570-016-0003 ↗
2. 10.1038/nnano.2016.30410.1038/nnano.2016.304 ↗
3. 10.1021/jacs.8b0217310.1021/jacs.8b02173 ↗
4. 10.1002/smll.20220787510.1002/smll.202207875 ↗
5. 10.1039/D2CP02671F10.1039/D2CP02671F ↗
6. 10.1021/acscatal.6b0291110.1021/acscatal.6b02911 ↗
7. 10.1021/acscatal.5b0055610.1021/acscatal.5b00556 ↗
8. 10.1002/adfm.20130051010.1002/adfm.201300510 ↗
9. 10.1021/acscatal.6b0222810.1021/acscatal.6b02228 ↗
10. 10.3390/nano901000110.3390/nano9010001 ↗
11. 10.1002/aenm.20140107710.1002/aenm.201401077 ↗
12. 10.1002/aenm.20210190510.1002/aenm.202101905 ↗
13. 10.1002/advs.20190282010.1002/advs.201902820 ↗
14. 10.1002/adfm.20210214210.1002/adfm.202102142 ↗
15. 10.1016/j.materresbull.2014.10.07610.1016/j.materresbull.2014.10.076 ↗
16. 10.1039/C7NJ04200K10.1039/C7NJ04200K ↗
17. 10.1021/acsaem.2c0296310.1021/acsaem.2c02963 ↗
18. 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.20310.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.203 ↗
19. 10.1002/smll.20170256810.1002/smll.201702568 ↗
20. 10.1002/smll.20170417910.1002/smll.201704179 ↗
21. 10.1002/advs.20220014610.1002/advs.202200146 ↗
22. 10.1002/adfm.20160480410.1002/adfm.201604804 ↗
23. 10.1002/adfm.20200898910.1002/adfm.202008989 ↗
24. 10.1126/sciadv.aao665710.1126/sciadv.aao6657 ↗
25. 10.1002/adfm.20220597410.1002/adfm.202205974 ↗
26. 10.1002/adfm.20210179610.1002/adfm.202101796 ↗
27. 10.1002/adfm.20210098210.1002/adfm.202100982 ↗
28. 10.1016/j.jechem.2020.03.06410.1016/j.jechem.2020.03.064 ↗
29. 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b0065210.1021/acs.chemmater.9b00652 ↗
30. 10.1038/nmat345410.1038/nmat3454 ↗
31. 10.1021/acsnano.7b0163710.1021/acsnano.7b01637 ↗
32. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.09.04010.1016/j.nanoen.2017.09.040 ↗
33. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.10696810.1016/j.nanoen.2022.106968 ↗
34. 10.1021/acscatal.7b0041110.1021/acscatal.7b00411 ↗
35. 10.1021/jacs.5b0173210.1021/jacs.5b01732 ↗
36. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.05.05810.1016/j.apcatb.2017.05.058 ↗
37. 10.1002/aenm.20210382010.1002/aenm.202103820 ↗
38. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.10.01110.1016/j.nanoen.2014.10.011 ↗
39. 10.1021/acscatal.0c0213010.1021/acscatal.0c02130 ↗
40. 10.1021/cs502128q10.1021/cs502128q ↗
41. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.03.08310.1016/j.nanoen.2019.03.083 ↗
42. 10.1002/aenm.20150153710.1002/aenm.201501537 ↗
43. 10.1021/acscatal.2c0383310.1021/acscatal.2c03833 ↗
44. 10.1002/aenm.20190139610.1002/aenm.201901396 ↗
45. 10.1021/acscatal.7b0316110.1021/acscatal.7b03161 ↗
46. 10.1002/advs.20150014010.1002/advs.201500140 ↗
47. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.12111110.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121111 ↗
48. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.02.00810.1016/j.apcatb.2016.02.008 ↗
49. 10.1021/acscatal.5b0220210.1021/acscatal.5b02202 ↗
50. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.10553210.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105532 ↗
51. 10.1038/s41467-019-10888-510.1038/s41467-019-10888-5 ↗
52. 10.1038/s41467-021-24182-w10.1038/s41467-021-24182-w ↗
53. 10.1002/adma.20180540510.1002/adma.201805405 ↗
54. 10.1038/s41557-018-0092-x10.1038/s41557-018-0092-x ↗
55. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.01.02110.1016/j.apcatb.2019.01.021 ↗
56. Zhang H. · Small · 2021 · 17
57. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.11978910.1016/j.apcatb.2020.119789 ↗
58. 10.1002/adfm.20210683510.1002/adfm.202106835 ↗
59. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.06610.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.066 ↗
60. 10.1021/acscatal.0c0474410.1021/acscatal.0c04744 ↗
61. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.11969210.1016/j.apcatb.2020.119692 ↗
62. 10.1002/aenm.20190235510.1002/aenm.201902355 ↗
63. 10.1016/j.chempr.2018.02.02510.1016/j.chempr.2018.02.025 ↗
64. 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.15567410.1016/j.apsusc.2022.155674 ↗
65. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b0342910.1021/acs.nanolett.7b03429 ↗
66. 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c0074710.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00747 ↗