Encapsulating Ni Nanoparticles into Interlayers of Nitrogen-Doped Nb2CTx MXene to Boost Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acid

Design and development of low-cost and highly efficient non-precious metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an acidic medium are key issues to realize the commercialization of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Ni is regarded as an ideal alternative to substitute Pt for HER based on the similar electronic structure and low price as well. However, low intrinsic activity and poor stability in acid restrict its practical applications. Herein, a new approach is reported to encapsulate Ni nanoparticles (NPs) into interlayer edges of N-doped Nb2CTx MXene (Ni NPs@N-Nb2CTx) by an electrochemical process. The as-prepared Ni NPs@N-Nb2CTx possesses Pt-like onset potentials and can reach 500 mA cm(-2) at overpotentials of only 383 mV, which is much higher than that of N-Nb2CTx supported Ni NPs synthesized by a wet-chemical method (w- Ni NPs/N-Nb2CTx). Furthermore, it shows high durability toward HER with a large current density of 300 mA cm(-2) for 24 h because of the encapsulated structure against corrosion, oxidation as well as aggregation of Ni NPs in an acidic medium. Detailed structural characterization and density functional theory calculations reveal that the stronger interaction boosts the HER.