Waste-yeast biomass as nitrogen/phosphorus sources and carbon template: Environment-friendly synthesis of N,P-Mo2C nanoparticles on porous carbon matrix for efficient hydrogen evolution

Tailor-made advanced electrocatalysts with high active and stable for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) play a key role in the development of hydrogen economy. Herein, a N,P-co-doped molybdenum carbide confined in porous carbon matrix (N,P-Mo2C/NPC) with a hierarchical structure is prepared by a resources recovery process. The N,P-Mo2C/NPC compound exhibits outstanding HER activity with a low overpotential of 84 mV to achieve 10 mA/cm(2), and excellent stability in alkaline media. The electrochemical measurements confirm that the enhanced HER activity of N,P-Mo2C/NPC is ascribe to the synergy of N,P-codoped and porous carbon matrix. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the electron density of active sites on Mo2C can be regulated by the N/P doping, leading to optimal H adsorption strength. In this work, the proof-of-concept resource utilization, a microorganism derived molybdenum carbide electrocatalyst for HER is fabricated, which may inaugurate a new way for designing electrocatalysts by the utilization of solid waste. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.