Yanhong Lin

Bio: Yanhong Lin is an academic researcher from Harbin Institute of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Graphene & Overpotential. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 44 citations.

Graphene/MoS2/FeCoNi(OH)x and Graphene/MoS2/FeCoNiPx multilayer-stacked vertical nanosheets on carbon fibers for highly efficient overall water splitting

Abstract: Development of excellent and cheap electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is of great significance for application of hydrogen energy. Here, we show a highly efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst with multilayer-stacked hybrid structure, in which vertical graphene nanosheets (VGSs), MoS2 nanosheets, and layered FeCoNi hydroxides (FeCoNi(OH)x) are successively grown on carbon fibers (CF/VGSs/MoS2/FeCoNi(OH)x). The catalyst exhibits excellent OER performance with a low overpotential of 225 and 241 mV to attain 500 and 1000 mA cm−2 and small Tafel slope of 29.2 mV dec−1. Theoretical calculation indicates that compositing of FeCoNi(OH)x with MoS2 could generate favorable electronic structure and decrease the OER overpotential, promoting the electrocatalytic activity. An alkaline water electrolyzer is established using CF/VGSs/MoS2/FeCoNi(OH)x anode for overall water splitting, which generates a current density of 100 mA cm−2 at 1.59 V with excellent stability over 100 h. Our highly efficient catalysts have great prospect for water electrolysis. While water-splitting electrocatalysis offers a renewable means for carbon-neutral energy production, it is a challenge to design efficient, active, and stable catalysts. Here, authors prepare multilayer composite nanosheet materials as bifunctional water-splitting electrocatalysts.

N,O-codoped 3D graphene fibers with densely arranged sharp edges as highly efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract: To replace the noble-metal Pt catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), developing efficient and earth-abundant electrocatalysts is of great importance. Both the morphology and composition engineering of graphene could effectively modify the electronic structure to optimize its electrocatalytic performance for ORR. Here, we report an effective method to dope carbon materials with N, by which the N doping concentration and form could be well controlled. We first grow 3D graphene fibers (3DGFs) by thermal chemical vapor deposition, which are then treated with acid or heated in air and heated in NH3 in succession, obtaining N,O-codoped 3DGFs. The codoped 3DGFs exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic performance toward ORR with onset potential of 1.01 V, half-wave potential of 0.883 V, long-term operation stability with 90% current retention after 50 h, and a good methanol tolerance in alkaline solutions, which are superior to 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst and other reported advanced metal-free catalysts. The excellent catalytic performance of the 3DGFs probably arises from the synergic effect of the morphology and composition engineering, e.g., the edges and doping, especially the pyridine N. The present work is expected to open up new approach to design outstanding metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for ORR.

Ni2P/NiMoP heterostructure as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for energy-saving hydrogen production

Abstract: Electrochemical water splitting is a sustainable and feasible strategy for hydrogen production but is hampered by the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, an effective approach is introduced to significantly decrease the cell voltage by replacing the anodic OER with a urea oxidation reaction (UOR). A Ni2P/NiMoP nanosheet catalyst with a hierarchical architecture is uniformly grown on a nickel foam (NF) substrate through a simple hydrothermal and phosphorization method. The Ni2P/NiMoP achieves impressive HER activity, with a low overpotential of only 22 mV at 10 mA cm–2 and a low Tafel slope of 34.5 mV dec–1. In addition, the oxidation voltage is significantly reduced from 1.49 V to 1.33 V after the introduction of 0.33 M urea. Notably, a two-electrode electrolyzer employing Ni2P/NiMoP as a bifunctional catalyst exhibits a current density of 10 mA cm–2 at a cell voltage of 1.35 V and excellent long-term durability after 80 h.

Halogen‐Doped Carbon Dots on Amorphous Cobalt Phosphide as Robust Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Abstract: Designing a stable and efficient dual‐functional catalyst for the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) is of great significance to the development of hydrogen production by water splitting. This work reports on novel halogen (X = F, Cl, and Br)‐doped carbon dots modifying amorphous cobalt phosphide (X‐CDs/CoP), which can be tuned by the choice of X‐CDs to have urchin, Pinus bungeana, and Albizia julibrissin type structures. The different characteristics of the various X‐CDs led to different formation mechanisms and final structures. As a bifunctional catalyst, urchin‐shaped F‐CDs/CoP crystals achieve superior electrocatalytic performance, exhibiting excellent HER/OER activity and sustained stability in an alkaline solution. For overall water splitting, they provide current density of 10 mA cm−2 and require a low cell voltage of 1.48 V in 1 M KOH. In addition, the catalytic performance shows negligible degradation after 100 h, thus demonstrating excellent long‐term cycling stability. Density functional theory calculations show that the improved electrocatalytic performance of F‐CDs/CoP catalysts is due to the coupling interface between CoP and F‐CDs, which optimizes the hydrogen/oxygen adsorption energy and accelerates the water splitting kinetics. This work provides guidance for the rational design of transition metal phosphide electrocatalysts with outstanding performance.

Anode materials for lithium-ion batteries: A review

Abstract: The need for eco-friendly and portable energy sources for application in electrical, electronic, automobile and even aerospace industries has led to an ever-increasing research and innovation in lithium-ion battery technology. Owing to the research and discoveries in recent years, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have stood out as the most suitable device for the storage of electrical power for application in mobile appliances and electric vehicles. This is as a result of the very attractive properties inherent in LIBs, which include lightweight, high energy density, small-scale size, few memory effects, long cycle life and low pollution. In this review article, recent advances in the development of anode materials for LIBs will be discussed, along with their advantages and disadvantages. New approaches for alleviating the drawbacks associated with LIB anode materials will also be highlighted.

Activating interfacial S sites of MoS2 boosts hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis

Abstract: The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is limited in alkaline and acid solution because the active sites are on the finite edge with extended basal plane remaining inert. Herein, we activated the interfacial S sites by coupling with Ru nanoparticles on the inert basal plane of MoS2 nanosheets. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation and experimental results show that the interfacial S electronic structure was modulated. And the results of ΔGH* demonstrate that the adsorption of H on the MoS2 was also optimized. With the advantage of interfacial S sites activation, the Ru-MoS2 needs only overpotential of 110 and 98 mV to achieve 10 mA·cm−2 in both 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH solution, respectively. This strategy paves a new way for activating the basal plane of other transition metal sulfide electrocatalysts for improving the HER performance.