Prof. Wenchao Sheng’s group published a paper in《Nature Communications》: A new stability record of non-precious metal electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction

Prof. Wenchao Sheng and Lin Zhuang (Wuhan University) have jointly published a research paper in the international authoritative journal《Nature Communications》: Metal-support Interaction Boosts the Stability of Ni-based Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Hydrogen Oxidation, Nature Communications, 2024, 15, 1: 76.

This work reported a TiO2 supported Ni4Mo hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) catalyst (Ni4Mo/TiO2) that can effectively catalyze HOR in alkaline electrolyte with a mass activity of 10.1±0.9 A g−1Ni and remain active even up to 1.2 V. The Ni4Mo/TiO2 anode anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) delivers an excellent peak power density of 520 mW cm−2 and extraordinary durability at 400 mA cm−2 for nearly 100 h, reaching a new HOR stability record of non-precious metals in both half-cell and single AEMFC tests. The origin for the prominent activity and stability is attributed to the down-shifted d band center, caused by the efficient charge transfer from TiO2 to Ni, weakening the binding strength of oxygen species. These results highlight the significance of the metal support interaction in improving the stability of Ni-based non-precious metal HOR electrocatalysts, and evidence the intriguing promise of Ni4Mo/TiO2 as an efficient and robust anode catalyst, making a giant step forward in the applications of the AEMFC technology.