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Yuanju Qu

Bio: Yuanju Qu is an academic researcher from University of Macau. The author has contributed to research in topics: Hydrogen production & Electrocatalyst. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 19 publications receiving 885 citations. Previous affiliations of Yuanju Qu include Jiangxi Normal University & Foshan University.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reported the fabrication of VS2 nanoflowers with 1T phase by a simple hydrothermal method and their electrocatalytic performance in the HER.
Abstract: It is a great challenge to explore cheap, abundant and eco-friendly electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report the fabrication of VS2 nanoflowers with 1T phase by a simple hydrothermal method and their electrocatalytic performance in the HER. We find that the VS2 nanoflowers show comparable HER performance to Pt in acids, including an ultra-low onset potential of 32 mV, a Tafel slope of 34 mV dec−1 which resembles that of Pt, and a small overpotential of 58 mV (54 mV for Pt) at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. High stability and almost 100% faradaic efficiency indicate the practical application of VS2 nanoflowers in the HER. Our first-principles calculations reveal that the thermoneutral Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption on both the basal and edge sites of the 1T-VS2 monolayer can be achieved under certain hydrogen coverage and the monolayer shows good conductivity, which contribute to the impressive catalytic performance of VS2 nanoflowers. We expect that the VS2 nanostructures may be applicable in electrocatalysis with high efficiency.

177 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is expected that the doping can be an effective way to enhance the catalytic performance of metal disulfides in hydrogen evolution reaction and V-doped Ni3S2 nanowire is one of the most promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen production.
Abstract: Ni3S2 nanowire arrays doped with vanadium(V) are directly grown on nickel foam by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. It is found that the doping can promote the formation of Ni3S2 nanowires at a low temperature. The doped nanowires show excellent electrocatalytic performance toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and outperform pure Ni3S2 and other Ni3S2-based compounds. The stability test shows that the performance of V-doped Ni3S2 nanowires is improved and stabilized after thousands of linear sweep voltammetry test. The onset potential of V-doped Ni3S2 nanowire can be as low as 39 mV, which is comparable to platinum. The nanowire has an overpotential of 68 mV at 10 mA cm–2, a relatively low Tafel slope of 112 mV dec–1, good stability and high Faradaic efficiency. First-principles calculations show that the V-doping in Ni3S2 extremely enhances the free carrier density near the Fermi level, resulting in much improved catalytic activities. We expect that the doping can be an effective way to enhance...

176 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a photocatalyst consisting of two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide (Ti2C) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is presented.
Abstract: Photocatalytic water splitting is an environmentally friendly technique for hydrogen production. In this work, we report a novel photocatalyst consisting of two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide (Ti2C) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). We observe substantially enhanced water splitting activities due to the efficient synergistic interaction between Ti2C and g-C3N4. Optimal properties are achieved in the g-C3N4 with a loading of 0.4 wt% Ti2C with a hydrogen production rate of 47.5 μmol h−1, which is 14.4 times as much as that in the case using pure g-C3N4, and it even outperforms Pt-loaded g-C3N4. We further show that the Ti2C/g-C3N4 has high stability and good reproducibility. We expect that the Ti2C/g-C3N4 can be a photocatalyst for large scale applications because both Ti2C and g-C3N4 are low-cost, abundant, and nontoxic.

162 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an ingenious Co-Co3O4@NAC is prepared for this purpose by anchoring Co single atom on both Co 3O4 nanoparticle and nitrogen-doped active carbon (NAC), where synergistic interaction among Co atoms, Co 3 O4 particles and NAC plays a significant role for excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
Abstract: Highly efficient noble-metal-free electrocatalysts are urgently explored for high energy density and safe metal-air batteries. Herein, an ingenious Co-Co3O4@NAC is prepared for this purpose by anchoring Co single atom on both Co3O4 nanoparticle and nitrogen-doped active carbon (NAC), where synergistic interaction among Co atoms, Co3O4 particles and NAC plays a significant role for excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Moreover, the primary zinc-air battery (ZAB) with the Co-Co3O4@NAC as a cathode catalyst shows a high open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.449 V, a specific energy density of 721 mA h/g and a maximum power density of 164 mW/cm2. The rechargeable ZAB with this catalyst displays a low voltage gap of 0.773 V at 10 mA/cm2 and stable cycling performance. This work provides a novel tactic to design elaborate high-efficient and promising bifunctional catalysts with non-noble metal atom and metal oxide for metal-air batteries.

157 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, a photocatalyst consisting of two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide (Ti₂C) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) was proposed for hydrogen production.
Abstract: Photocatalytic water splitting is an environmentally friendly technique for hydrogen production. In this work, we report a novel photocatalyst consisting of two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide (Ti₂C) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄). We observe substantially enhanced water splitting activities due to the efficient synergistic interaction between Ti₂C and g-C₃N₄. Optimal properties are achieved in the g-C₃N₄ with a loading of 0.4 wt% Ti₂C with a hydrogen production rate of 47.5 μmol h⁻¹, which is 14.4 times as much as that in the case using pure g-C₃N₄, and it even outperforms Pt-loaded g-C₃N₄. We further show that the Ti₂C/g-C₃N₄ has high stability and good reproducibility. We expect that the Ti₂C/g-C₃N₄ can be a photocatalyst for large scale applications because both Ti₂C and g-C₃N₄ are low-cost, abundant, and nontoxic.

121 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Various cocatalysts, such as the biomimetic, metal-based,Metal-free, and multifunctional ones, and their selectivity for CO2 photoreduction are summarized and discussed, along with the recent advances in this area.
Abstract: Photoreduction of CO2 into sustainable and green solar fuels is generally believed to be an appealing solution to simultaneously overcome both environmental problems and energy crisis. The low selectivity of challenging multi-electron CO2 photoreduction reactions makes it one of the holy grails in heterogeneous photocatalysis. This Review highlights the important roles of cocatalysts in selective photocatalytic CO2 reduction into solar fuels using semiconductor catalysts. A special emphasis in this review is placed on the key role, design considerations and modification strategies of cocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction. Various cocatalysts, such as the biomimetic, metal-based, metal-free, and multifunctional ones, and their selectivity for CO2 photoreduction are summarized and discussed, along with the recent advances in this area. This Review provides useful information for the design of highly selective cocatalysts for photo(electro)reduction and electroreduction of CO2 and complements the existing reviews on various semiconductor photocatalysts.

1,365 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Insightful insights gathered in the process of studying TMS are provided, and valuable guidelines for engineering other kinds of nanomaterial catalysts for energy conversion and storage technologies are described.
Abstract: Heterogenous electrocatalysts based on transition metal sulfides (TMS) are being actively explored in renewable energy research because nanostructured forms support high intrinsic activities for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, it is described how researchers are working to improve the performance of TMS-based materials by manipulating their internal and external nanoarchitectures. A general introduction to the water-splitting reaction is initially provided to explain the most important parameters in accessing the catalytic performance of nanomaterials catalysts. Later, the general synthetic methods used to prepare TMS-based materials are explained in order to delve into the various strategies being used to achieve higher electrocatalytic performance in the HER. Complementary strategies can be used to increase the OER performance of TMS, resulting in bifunctional water-splitting electrocatalysts for both the HER and the OER. Finally, the current challenges and future opportunities of TMS materials in the context of water splitting are summarized. The aim herein is to provide insights gathered in the process of studying TMS, and describe valuable guidelines for engineering other kinds of nanomaterial catalysts for energy conversion and storage technologies.

899 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A variety of strategies such as structural tuning, composition control, doping, hybrid structures, heterostructures, defect control, temperature effects and porosity effects on metal sulfide nanocrystals are discussed and how they are exploited to enhance performance and develop future energy materials.
Abstract: In recent years, nanocrystals of metal sulfide materials have attracted scientific research interest for renewable energy applications due to the abundant choice of materials with easily tunable electronic, optical, physical and chemical properties. Metal sulfides are semiconducting compounds where sulfur is an anion associated with a metal cation; and the metal ions may be in mono-, bi- or multi-form. The diverse range of available metal sulfide materials offers a unique platform to construct a large number of potential materials that demonstrate exotic chemical, physical and electronic phenomena and novel functional properties and applications. To fully exploit the potential of these fascinating materials, scalable methods for the preparation of low-cost metal sulfides, heterostructures, and hybrids of high quality must be developed. This comprehensive review indicates approaches for the controlled fabrication of metal sulfides and subsequently delivers an overview of recent progress in tuning the chemical, physical, optical and nano- and micro-structural properties of metal sulfide nanocrystals using a range of material fabrication methods. For hydrogen energy production, three major approaches are discussed in detail: electrocatalytic hydrogen generation, powder photocatalytic hydrogen generation and photoelectrochemical water splitting. A variety of strategies such as structural tuning, composition control, doping, hybrid structures, heterostructures, defect control, temperature effects and porosity effects on metal sulfide nanocrystals are discussed and how they are exploited to enhance performance and develop future energy materials. From this literature survey, energy conversion currently relies on a limited range of metal sulfides and their composites, and several metal sulfides are immature in terms of their dissolution, photocorrosion and long-term durability in electrolytes during water splitting. Future research directions for innovative metal sulfides should be closely allied to energy and environmental issues, along with their advanced characterization, and developing new classes of metal sulfide materials with well-defined fabrication methods.

685 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, a novel crystal configuration of sandwiched S-Mo-Se structure (Janus SMoSe) at the monolayer limit has been synthesized and carefully characterized.
Abstract: A novel crystal configuration of sandwiched S-Mo-Se structure (Janus SMoSe) at the monolayer limit has been synthesized and carefully characterized in this work. By controlled sulfurization of monolayer MoSe2 the top layer of selenium atoms are substituted by sulfur atoms while the bottom selenium layer remains intact. The peculiar structure of this new material is systematically investigated by Raman, photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and confirmed by transmission-electron microscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Density-functional theory calculations are performed to better understand the Raman vibration modes and electronic structures of the Janus SMoSe monolayer, which are found to correlate well with corresponding experimental results. Finally, high basal plane hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity is discovered for the Janus monolayer and DFT calculation implies that the activity originates from the synergistic effect of the intrinsic defects and structural strain inherent in the Janus structure.

649 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new N-anion-decorated Ni3 S2 material synthesized by a simple one-step calcination route is put forward, acting as a superior bifunctional electrocatalyst for the OER/HER for the first time.
Abstract: Developing non-noble-metal electrocatalysts with high activity and low cost for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of paramount importance for improving the generation of H2 fuel by electrocatalytic water-splitting. This study puts forward a new N-anion-decorated Ni3 S2 material synthesized by a simple one-step calcination route, acting as a superior bifunctional electrocatalyst for the OER/HER for the first time. The introduction of N anions significantly modifies the morphology and electronic structure of Ni3 S2 , bringing high surface active sites exposure, enhanced electrical conductivity, optimal HER Gibbs free-energy (ΔGH* ), and water adsorption energy change (ΔGH2O* ). Remarkably, the obtained N-Ni3 S2 /NF 3D electrode exhibits extremely low overpotentials of 330 and 110 mV to reach a current density of 100 and 10 mA cm-2 for the OER and HER in 1.0 m KOH, respectively. Moreover, an overall water-splitting device comprising this electrode delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a very low cell voltage of 1.48 V. Our finding introduces a new way to design advanced bifunctional catalysts for water splitting.

522 citations