Ni-Phthalocyanine Derived Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Active Sites Formation and Electrocatalytic Activity
In this work, an electrocatalyst derived from a mixture of carbon black (Ketjenblack 600) and nickel phthalocyanine using a pyrolytic process is presented. The evolution of the active site during pyrolysis at different temperatures from room temperature to 1000 °C is evaluated through a series of advanced microscopic and spectroscopic tools. The electrocatalyst retains its atomically dispersed Ni–Nx structure until 600 °C, where coalescence occurs and nanoparticles are formed. Advanced synchrotron light source analysis (XANES + EXAFS) confirmed the absence of oxygen interaction with the atomically dispersed metal, showing overlapping in situ and ex situ spectra. Electrochemical characterization was also carried out. A comprehensive structure-to-property relationship is presented to correlate electrochemical features and microscopic/spectroscopic data. HER is enhanced by the presence of Ni nanoparticles with decreased overpotentials along with temperature increase. For ORR, the temperature is not beneficial for the electrocatalytic activity. The secondary active site (nitrogen-pyridinic) rather than Ni–Nx seems to be more efficient for faster kinetics and reduced peroxide production.
Authors
- Nicolò Pianta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3206-5023)
- F. D’Acapito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2207-6113)
- Seyed Ariana Mirshokraee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3724-5859)
- Alessandro Lavacchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8098-2654)
- Alessio Cosenza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6973-5887)
- Laura Capozzoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7057-0477)
- Mohsin Muhyuddin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5890-1205)
- Jacopo Orsilli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6297-1177)
- Enrico Berretti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8200-4301)
- Rosanna Viscardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7861-0288)
- Carlo Santoro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0944-4500)
- Plamen Atanassov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2996-472X)
Institutions
- National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (IT)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Institute for the Chemistry of OrganoMetallic Compounds (IT)
- Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (FR)
- Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés (FR)
- ENEA Casaccia Research Centre
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Catalysis
- Published
- 2024-09-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c03814
- Citations
- 29
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.97
Funders
- European Commission
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
- Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile