Abstract

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution using metal-free catalysts is critically essential because platinum-based electrocatalysts are greatly limited in scalable commercialization of hydrogen generation due to their high cost. Here, we report the facile synthesis of metal-free hybrid catalysts, in which the graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is coupled with nanoporous graphene doped by S and Se. The g-C₃N₄@S-Se-pGr reveals superior electrocatalytic performances, including an exchange current density of 6.27×10⁻⁶ A cm⁻², on-set potential of 0.092 V, Tafel slope of 86 mV/dec and long-term stability comparable to those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. Our strategy has the potential to allow a new paradigm for the development of high-performance metal-free electrocatalyst for energy conversion devices.

© 2015 Optical Society of America