The alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a crucial process for sustainable hydrogen production, yet it requires efficient and stable electrocatalysts to overcome the high activation energy barrier. The article discusses a novel strategy for enhancing the performance of Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide (Ni-Fe LDH) in the alkaline HER by modifying it with a frustrated Lewis acid-base pair (FLP) constructed through vacancy engineering. The study found that the modified Ni-Fe LDH exhibited improved alkaline HER performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the introduction of FLP can activate water and protons more efficiently than monometallic sites, thus reducing the alkaline HER energy barrier and overpotential. In HER under alkaline conditions, the Volmer step involves an additional hydrolysis dissociation compared to acidic conditions, which is one of the factors contributing to the slow reaction kinetics. This paper demonstrates that FLPs can alter the rate-determining step in alkaline HER from the Volmer step to a step with a lower energy barrier, more suitable for hydrogen desorption. The work provides new insights into the role of FLPs in regulating the mechanism and kinetics of HER and opens a new direction for the design and optimization of LDH-based and other electrocatalysts.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |