Abstract:
Porous molybdenum nitride(Mo
2N) nanobelt arrays that integrated with conductive carbon paper were obtained via hydrothermal and nitridation method under optimal conditions. Initially, high density MoO
3 nanobelt arrays were in situ synthesized on carbon paper via the hydrothermal method. The followed nitridation reaction was based on the solid-state topotactic reaction mechanism. After that, arrayed Mo
2N nanobelts with closely aligned mesopores were formed. This prepared Mo
2N/C could be used as an electrode directly without adding polymer binder or additives. Mo
2N/C presented an enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance without loading noble metal. The overpotential for Mo
2N porous nanobelt arrays was about-180 mV at 10 mA·cm
-2 current density.And the Tafel slope was at about 81 mV/dec. Compared with MoO
3/C, the η10 value of porous Mo
2N/C was about-60 mV lower, and Tafel slope was about 94 mV/dec smaller. After nitriding, the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution property has been improved significantly. The results suggested that porous Mo
2N/C possesses a promising potential as self-supporting non-noble metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution.