Title: <scp>HF</scp> free greener <scp>Cl</scp> ‐terminated <scp>MXene</scp> as novel electrocatalyst for overall water splitting in alkaline media
Abstract: International Journal of Energy ResearchVolume 46, Issue 8 p. 10942-10954 RESEARCH ARTICLE HF free greener Cl-terminated MXene as novel electrocatalyst for overall water splitting in alkaline media Bilal Sarfraz, Bilal Sarfraz orcid.org/0000-0002-6770-4331 School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorMuhammad Taqi Mehran, Corresponding Author Muhammad Taqi Mehran [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6045-6558 School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan Correspondence Muhammad Taqi Mehran, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorMutawara Mahmood Baig, Mutawara Mahmood Baig School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorSalman Raza Naqvi, Salman Raza Naqvi School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorAsif Hussain Khoja, Asif Hussain Khoja orcid.org/0000-0002-9006-3456 US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (CAS-EN), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Sector, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorFaisal Shahzad, Faisal Shahzad Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this author Bilal Sarfraz, Bilal Sarfraz orcid.org/0000-0002-6770-4331 School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorMuhammad Taqi Mehran, Corresponding Author Muhammad Taqi Mehran [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-6045-6558 School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan Correspondence Muhammad Taqi Mehran, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorMutawara Mahmood Baig, Mutawara Mahmood Baig School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorSalman Raza Naqvi, Salman Raza Naqvi School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorAsif Hussain Khoja, Asif Hussain Khoja orcid.org/0000-0002-9006-3456 US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (CAS-EN), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Sector, Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this authorFaisal Shahzad, Faisal Shahzad Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad, PakistanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 31 March 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/er.7895 Funding information: SCME, NUST Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary Hydrogen and oxygen evolution through electrochemical water splitting is essential for effective and inexpensive production of hydrogen and oxygen, which depends on the development of economical, and extremely active electrocatalysts. Two-dimensional (2D) nano-laminated materials are imperious as electrocatalysts due to their phenomenal properties and extensive scope of applications. In this work, we report a greener way of synthesizing MXene without hydrofluoric acid (HF) treatment and demonstrated its excellent electrochemical characteristics as an overall water-splitting catalyst. Cl-terminated MXenes (Ti3C2Cl2) were synthesized via a molten salt approach, in which the MAX phase (Ti3AlC2) was reacted with copper chloride (CuCl2) salt followed by thermal treatment at a temperature of 550°C for 5 hours. The resulting Cl-terminated MXene was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical testing was performed in the alkaline media for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). For OER in 1 M KOH, Cl-terminated MXene achieves a benchmark of 30 mA cm−2 current density at an overpotential of 330 mV and a Tafel slope of 48 mV dec−1, while HF-MXene exhibits an overpotential of 390 mV and a Tafel slope of 136 mV dec−1. For HER, Cl-MXene attains an overpotential of 259 mV, and a Tafel slope of 92 mV dec−1 to achieve the 10 mA cm−2 current density, on the other hand, HF-MXene achieves an overpotential of 444 mV and a Tafel slope of 311 mV dec−1. Furthermore, the electrocatalyst exhibited excellent long-term stability of 0.7 V at 100 mA cm−2 current density for 36 hours. The synthesis methodology for greener Cl-terminated MXene coupled with an outstanding electrocatalytic activity is set to open new avenues of catalyst design for water splitting. Supporting Information Filename Description er7895-sup-0001-Figures.docxWord 2007 document , 246.3 KB Figure S1. OER full potential range graph for Tafel slope calculation. Figure S2. HER full potential range graph for Tafel slope calculation. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Volume46, Issue8Special Issue: Potential Energy Solutions (IEEES-12)25 June 2022Pages 10942-10954 RelatedInformation