Dynamic construction of a durable epitaxial catalytic layer for industrial alkaline water splitting
Optimizing the catalyst-electrolyte interface structure is crucial for enhancing the performance of electrochemical alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. Traditional approaches typically focus on regulating the thermodynamic barriers of adsorption and desorption for reactants, intermediates, and ions at active sites on the solid electrode surface. However, the structure of the electrical double layer influences the concentration of intermediates, adsorption energy, and surface reaction kinetics. Here, we dynamically construct a dense epitaxial hydroxide layer on nickel molybdate, forming an effective protective barrier to prevent molybdenum leaching and enhance material stability. This optimization enhances local electric field increasing the concentration of hydrated potassium ions within the outer Helmholtz plane. As a result, the interfacial hydrogen-bond network improves, water availability on the catalyst surface increases, and reaction kinetics accelerate. The optimized material operates stably for 1400 h at a current density of 0.45 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in an industrial alkaline electrolyzer. Our dual-optimization strategy of dynamically constructing an epitaxial catalytic layer offers valuable insights for developing stable, high-current-density electrocatalytic materials.
Authors
- Yongjiu Lei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1663-6102)
- Weijia Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4339-0435)
- Zhiping Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9555-6009)
- Rashed Aleisa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8718-3273)
- Huabin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1601-2471)
- Riming Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3548-9625)
- Yuanfu Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0587-3639)
- Wan‐Lu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0098-0670)
- Bin Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4510-0550)
- Mohd Adnan Khan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6280-6171)
- Shouwei Zuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8936-4668)
- Husam Niman Alshareef (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5029-2142)
- H. Miao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1078-5713)
- Daqing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6178-357X)
- Jietong He
- Yang Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9795-8503)
- Xiaoyan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6448-2008)
- Hong Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1640-9620)
Institutions
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
- Shandong University (CN)
- University of Jinan (CN)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) (SA)
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials
- East China Normal University (CN)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-08-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63361-x
- Citations
- 17
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.18
Funders
- Shandong University
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- University of Jinan
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- East China Normal University
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Zhejiang University
- Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province
- Saudi Aramco
- University of California, San Diego
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology