Preparation and study of electrocatalytic activity of Ni-Pd(OH)2/C nanocomposite for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solution

A new catalyst (Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was prepared by coelectrodeposition of Pd(OH)₂/C nanoparticles and Ni on a Cu substrate in two steps. Furthermore, the effect of Mo ions in alkaline solution (1 M NaOH) on the electrocatalytic activity of Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C nanocomposite was studied as an in-situ activator for the HER. The various electrochemical methods were employed to study the HER activity of the investigated new catalyst, including linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), the steady-state polarization Tafel curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and chronoamperometry (CA). The electrochemical measurements showed that the Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C nanocomposite as a catalyst for the HER has an excellent catalytic activity with good stability in alkaline solution. Furthermore, the rate constants of the forward and backward reactions of Volmer and Heyrovský steps were estimated using Tafel-impedance data and revealed that the proton discharge electrosorption or Volmer reaction (k₁= (6.8 ± 0.7) × 10⁻⁸ mol cm⁻² s⁻¹) was the rate determining step (RDS) of the HER on the surface of Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C nanocomposite. Also, it was observed that the presence of Mo ions in alkaline solution could significantly increase the HER activity of Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C nanocomposite. The comparison of RDS rate constant value with surface roughness (R_f) of Ni-Pd(OH)₂/C catalyst showed that its high activity toward the HER originated from both increase in the surface roughness (∼20%) and increase in synergistic effect (∼80%).     

Overall noble metal free Ni and Fe doped Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) bifunctional electrocatalytic systems for enhanced water splitting reactions

Herein, we report an inexpensive synthesis of sonochemical nickel and iron (M = Ni, Fe) doped Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) and their utility as a nanoelectrodes for improved electrocatalytic water splitting performance. The as-synthesized electrode materials were characterized further by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and X-ray photoelectron (XP) spectroscopic studies. Significantly, Ni doped CZTS electrocatalyst exhibits low overpotential approximately 214 and 400 mV for the hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1 M KOH electrolyte solutions respectively, and 1.29 V vs RHE for the oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in 1 M KOH at 10 mA/cm² current density. Small Tafel slopes and tested durability for longer time i.e. upto 500 min for water splitting, demonstrates that Ni doped CZTS is efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst having high activity along with extraordinary current/potential stability. Moreover, Fe doped CZTS electrocatalyst shows relatively poor response, i.e. overpotential 300 mV in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 445 mV in 1.0 M KOH towards HER and overpotential 1.54 V for the OER in 1 M KOH reaches at 10 mA/cm². This highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts that can meet the existing energy anxiety.     

Fabrication of 3-D ZnO/CN nanorods for photo-/electrocatalytic water splitting: An efficient morphology for charge carriers transportation

The present study is about the fabrication of an efficient photo-/electrocatalyst, prepared via in-situ hydrothermal coupling of ZnO with g-C₃N₄. The results prove this electrocatalyst as suitable band structure semiconductor. The crystalline nature and related morphological parameters are controlled by optimized hydrothermal and calcination temperatures conditions. A series of physicochemical characterization are applied to inquire the crystalline structure, surface morphology, optical capabilities and charge transportation properties. Results revealed that the sample acts as excellent electrocatalyst with OER current density at 10 mAcm⁻² @ 335 mV and the HER at 100 mAcm⁻² @ −225 mV. While upon illuminations its catalytic properties further enhance at OER 10 mAcm⁻² @ 326 mV and for HER current density of 100 mAcm⁻² @ −167 mV. It can be seen from the present study that g-C₃N₄ play gigantic role in enhancing the catalytic property of ZnO and hence it leads to a relationship between hierarchical features and photo-/electrochemical activity for water splitting.     

PANI-modified Pt/Na4Ge9O20 with low Pt loadings: Efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution

Exploring cost-effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) have been a goal in the sustainable hydrogen-based society. Although abundant of alternative materials have been developed, Pt/C remains the most efficient electrocatalyst for the ORR and HER. Nevertheless, improving the stability and reducing Pt loading for Pt-based electrocatalysts are still big challenges. Herein, semiconductor crystals Na₄Ge₉O₂₀ with richer topology structure was chosen as electrocatalyst support, subsequently, the conductive polymer polyaniline (PANI) was decorated on semiconductor Na₄Ge₉O₂₀, low-content Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) with the size of 1–3 nm were then uniformly anchored on the surface of Na₄Ge₉O₂₀-PANI to obtain the efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for ORR and HER in the acidic solution. More importantly, the stability and mass activity of the obtained electrocatalyst 5 wt% Pt/Na₄Ge₉O₂₀-PNAI are significantly higher than that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C for ORR and HER. It was proposed that the PANI could not only promote the electron transfer from Na₄Ge₉O₂₀ to Pt, but also stabilize the Pt NPs, thus, improving the electrocatalytic activity and stability of 5 wt% Pt/Na₄Ge₉O₂₀-PNAI.     

High activity PtPd-WC/C electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Pd modified Pt over a novel support of tungsten carbide nanocrystals (the catalyst denotes as PtPd-WC/C) have been prepared by using an intermittent microwave heating (IMH) method. The as-prepared electrocatalysts are characterized by using the techniques of XRD, SEM, TEM, linear sweeping voltammetry and tested for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the acidic media. It shows a better performance for the HER on PtPd-WC/C electrocatalyst than that on Pt-WC/C electrocatalyst. In addition, these effects on the catalytic activity by changing environmental temperature and electrolyte concentration were taken into account. Kinetic study shows that the HER on the PtPd-WC/C electrocatalyst gives higher exchange current density in H₂SO₄ solution with high concentration, leading to a lower overpotential and facile kinetics. XRD, SEM and TEM images of PtPd-WC/C show the crystalline features of Pt, Pd and tungsten carbides and indicated the coexistence of these components.     

二硫化钼催化析氢电极的构筑及其性能研究

针对目前MoS₂作为析氢催化剂时存在的活性位点数目少且材料导电性能差等问题,文中通过液相超声剥离法以及离心处理制备得到MoS₂/PVP分散液。PVP的辅助剥离作用使得剥离得到的MoS₂纳米片尺寸大幅减小,提高了MoS₂催化析氢活性位点的丰度;MoS₂在PVP辅助剥离过程中发生了2H相到1T相的转变,同样增强了催化析氢活性。文中选用含有导电铜层的PI基片作为电极基底,利用喷墨印刷技术将MoS₂/PVP催化剂固载于导电基底上制得催化析氢电极。该电极在10 mA·cm ^-2处的过电位为77 mV,Tafel斜率为65 mV·dec ^-1,这一结果表明该催化电极具有高催化活性。     

Cancer Vaccines,Treatment of the Future: With Emphasis on HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women. With improvements in early-stage diagnosis and targeted therapies, there has been an improvement in the overall survival rate in breast cancer over the past decade. Despite the development of targeted therapies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, as well as monoclonal antibodies and their toxin conjugates, all metastatic tumors develop resistance, and nearly one-third of HER2+ breast cancer patients develop resistance to all these therapies. Although antibody therapy has shown promising results in breast cancer patients, passive immunotherapy approaches have limitations and need continuous administration over a long period. Vaccine therapy introduces antigens that act on cancer cells causing prolonged activation of the immune system. In particular, cancer relapse could be avoided due to the presence of a longer period of immunological memory with an effective vaccine that can protect against various tumor antigens. Cancer vaccines are broadly classified as preventive and therapeutic. Preventive vaccines are used to ward off any future infections and therapeutic vaccines are used to treat a person with active disease. In this article, we provided details about the tumor environment, different types of vaccines, their advantages and disadvantages, and the current status of various vaccine candidates with a focus on vaccines for breast cancer. Current data indicate that therapeutic vaccines themselves have limitations in terms of efficacy and are used in combination with other chemotherapeutic or targeting agents. The majority of breast cancer vaccines are undergoing clinical trials and the next decade will see the fruitfulness of breast cancer vaccine therapy.     

Enhancement in the catalytic activity of two-dimensional α-CN by B,Si and P doping for hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions

Employing the Density Functional Theory investigations, we have designed 2D α-CN with the dopants P, Si and B as catalyst for HER and OER activities. Doping of P and B over α-CN modifies its electronic properties and reduces band gap (3.78 eV) of α-CN to the required band gap for HER and OER activities. The modification of electronic properties is discussed by the analysis of partial density of states, Löwdin charge and charge density plot. To understand HER and OER activities better, we computed Gibbs free energy change after adsorption of H/O in various doped α-CN systems. We observe that the P doping at C site and B doping at N site of α-CN are best suited for HER and OER respectively. The HER (OER) activity increases by 88.33% (29.35%) for P doped at C site (B doped at N site) of α-CN in comparison to pristine α-CN.     

P doped NiCoZn LDH growth on nickel foam as an highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for Overall Urea-Water Electrolysis

Water electrolysis is one of the important methods for hydrogen production, but the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the anode has a higher theoretical potential. Using urea oxidation reaction (UOR) instead of OER has been an energy-saving method because it has a lower theoretical potential and also can reduce pollution. In this paper, NiCoZn LDH/NF, P–NiCoZn LDH/NF-X (X is the atom ratio of P) = 10%, 15%, 20%) were synthesized through typically hydrothermal and calcination methods. P–NiCoZn LDH/NF-15% was demonstrated to be abifunctional electrocatalyst towards HER and UOR. When P–NiCoZn LDH/NF-15% is used as the anode and cathode for urea-water electrolysis,it shows that when the current density is 100 mA cm^?2, the voltage is 1.479 V for urea-water electrolysis, which is much better than that of IrO₂/NF||Pt/C/NF (1.698 V). Thus, P–NiCoZn LDH/NF-15% is expected to replace precious metals for practical applications.     

2D MXenes and their heterostructures for HER,OER and overall water splitting: A review

MXenes are a family of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides that have surface termination groups such as –OH, –O, and –F. The presence of transition metal imparts conductivity, surface termination groups induce hydrophilicity and layered structure offers large surface area which makes MXenes a potential candidate to be utilized as an electro-catalyst with enhanced efficiency. The Water Electrolysis (WE) efficiency of an electro-catalysts is dependent on the performance of half-cell reactions i.e. Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). The OER kinetics of most of the bi-functional electrocatalysts are considered sluggish due to which they are tested in alkaline media. However, due to the metallic nature and surface properties of MXenes, they as substrate not only improve HER performance of grown electro-catalyst but also facilitate OER kinetics which is considered sluggish for most bi-functional electrocatalysts. This review presents the significance of MXenes as HER, OER, and bi-functional electrocatalysts by discussing the electrocatalytic properties of a wide range of MXenes and how their hetero-structures affect HER, OER, and bi-functional electrocatalytic performance. In the end, the current challenges, and future perspectives of MXenes and their nanocomposites for water electrolysis have been discussed.