Boron nitride-based electrocatalysts for HER, OER, and ORR: A mini-review

doi:10.1007/s11706-021-0577-1

Front. Mater. Sci.

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (4) : 543-552 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-021-0577-1

MINI-REVIEW

Boron nitride-based electrocatalysts for HER, OER, and ORR: A mini-review

Nabi ULLAH^1,², Rizwan ULLAH³, Saraf KHAN⁴, Yuanguo XU²(

)

¹. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
². School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
³. National Centre of Excellence in Physical Chemistry, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan
⁴. Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 25120, Pakistan

Download: PDF(756 KB) HTML
Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks

Abstract

A reliable and efficient solution to the current energy crisis and its associated environmental issues is provided by fuel cells, metal–air batteries and overall water splitting. The heart reactions for these technologies are oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Different supporters such as graphene, carbon nanotube, and graphitic carbon nitride have been used to avoid agglomeration of active materials and provide maximum active surface for these reactions. Among all the supporters, boron nitride (BN) gains extensive research attention due to its analogue with graphene and excellent stability with good oxidation and chemical inertness. In this mini-review, the well-known strategies (exfoliation, annealing, and CVD) used in the synthesis of BN with different morphologies for HER, OER and ORR applications have been briefly debated and summarized. The comparative analysis determines that the performance and stability of state-of-the-art electrocatalysts can be further boosted if they are deposited on BN. It is revealed that BN-based catalysts for HER, OER and ORR are rarely studied yet especially with non-noble transition metals, and this research direction should be studied deeply in future for practical applications.

Keywords boron nitride electrocatalyst hydrogen evolution reaction oxygen evolution reaction oxygen reduction reaction

Corresponding Author(s): Yuanguo XU

Online First Date: 06 December 2021 Issue Date: 28 December 2021

Cite this article:

Nabi ULLAH,Rizwan ULLAH,Saraf KHAN, et al. Boron nitride-based electrocatalysts for HER, OER, and ORR: A mini-review[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2021, 15(4): 543-552.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-021-0577-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2021/V15/I4/543

Fig.1 Scheme 1 Synthetic routes for the synthesis of BN.

Fig.2 (a) Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) curves in O₂-saturated 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ HClO₄ at a scan rate of 10 mV·s⁻¹ and a rotating speed of 1600 r·min⁻¹. (b) Mass and specific activities of Pt/p-BN and commercial Pt/C catalysts at 0.85 and 0.90 V. (c) LSV curves of Pt/p-BN in O₂-saturated 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ HClO₄ at different rotation rates. (d) Corresponding electron transfer number (n, dot lines) and H₂O₂ yields (H₂O₂%, solid lines) calculated from RRDE tests towards ORR on Pt/p-BN and commercial Pt/C in O₂-saturated 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ HClO₄ electrolyte. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [36] (Copyright 2020, Elsevier B.V.).

Fig.3 (a) Comparative OER voltammograms of CNTBN5-750, bare h-BN, functionalized CNT (fCNT), and Pt/C catalyst, in 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ KOH electrolyte at 1600 r·min⁻¹ with the scan rate of 10 mV·s⁻¹; inset shows plot of current density versus overpotential (η) with respect to standard thermodynamic potential for OER. (b) Tafel plots of OER, extracted from polarization curve in panel (a). (c) Comparative anodic OER polarization curves for CNTBN5-750 before and after the durability test in 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ KOH solution; inset shows photograph of oxygen bubble generated on the CNTBN5-750 modified electrode during OER. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [35] (Copyright 2017, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim).

Fig.4 (a) LSVs (scan rate of 50 mV·s⁻¹) and (b) Tafel slope analyses for Pt/h-BN (2:1) and Pt/C (20:80, commercial catalyst). The current densities in the plots are calculated using the ECSA. The fitted regions of the Tafel slope calculations in panel (b) are marked with dotted overlays. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [31] (Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society).

1	L Qu, Z Zhang, H Zhang, et al.. Transformation from graphitic C3N4 to nitrogen–boron–carbon ternary nanosheets as efficient metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction. Applied Surface Science, 2018, 448: 618–627 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.04.174
2	A Ali, Y Liu, R Mo, et al.. Facile one-step in-situ encapsulation of non-noble metal Co2P nanoparticles embedded into B, N, P tri-doped carbon nanotubes for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45(46): 24312–24321 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.06.235
3	H Li, B Ren, W Liu, et al.. Boron nanosheets induced microstructure and charge transfer tailoring in carbon nanofibrous mats towards highly efficient water splitting. Nano Energy, 2021, 88: 106246 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106246
4	Y Liu, R Ali, J Ma, et al.. Graphene-decorated boron–carbon–nitride-based metal-free catalysts for an enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2021, 4(4): 3861–3868 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c00238
5	G Fan, Q Wang, X Liu, et al.. Computational screening of bifunctional single atom electrocatalyst based on boron nitride nanoribbon for water splitting. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2021, 622: 118235 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2021.118235
6	Z Zhang, S Liu, F Xiao, et al.. Facile synthesis of heterostructured nickel/nickel oxide wrapped carbon fiber: Flexible bifunctional gas-evolving electrode for highly efficient overall water splitting. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2017, 5(1): 529–536 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b01879
7	Y Hou, M R Lohe, J Zhang, et al.. Vertically oriented cobalt selenide/NiFe layered-double-hydroxide nanosheets supported on exfoliated graphene foil: An efficient 3D electrode for overall water splitting. Energy & Environmental Science, 2016, 9(2): 478–483 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE03440J
8	H Liu, X H Zhang, Y X Li, et al.. Conductive boron nitride as promising catalyst support for the oxygen evolution reaction. Advanced Energy Materials, 2020, 10(25): 1902521 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201902521
9	S Kawrani, A A Nada, M F Bekheet, et al.. Enhancement of calcium copper titanium oxide photoelectrochemical performance using boron nitride nanosheets. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 389: 124326 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.124326
10	X Zhou, X F Meng, J M Wang, et al.. Boron nitride supported NiCoP nanoparticles as noble metal-free catalyst for highly efficient hydrogen generation from ammonia borane. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2019, 44(10): 4764–4770 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.01.026
11	X Sun, Q Zhu, X Kang, et al.. Design of a Cu(I)/C-doped boron nitride electrocatalyst for efficient conversion of CO2 into acetic acid. Green Chemistry, 2017, 19(9): 2086–2091 https://doi.org/10.1039/C7GC00503B
12	Y Chen, J Cai, P Li, et al.. Hexagonal boron nitride as a multifunctional support for engineering efficient electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction. Nano Letters, 2020, 20(9): 6807–6814 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02782 pmid: 32786932
13	Q Cui, G Qin, W Wang, et al.. Mo-doped boron nitride monolayer as a promising single-atom electrocatalyst for CO2 conversion. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 2019, 10(1): 540–548 https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.10.55 pmid: 30873326
14	X Tan, H A Tahini, H Arandiyan, et al.. Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to methane on single transition metal atoms supported on a defective boron nitride monolayer: First principle study. Advanced Theory and Simulations, 2019, 2(3): 1800094 https://doi.org/10.1002/adts.201800094
15	S Tang, X Zhou, S Zhang, et al.. Metal-free boron nitride nanoribbon catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction: Combining high activity and selectivity. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019, 11(1): 906–915 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b18505 pmid: 30525373
16	M Qu, G Qin, J Fan, et al.. Boron-rich boron nitride nanomaterials as efficient metal-free catalysts for converting CO2 into valuable fuel. Applied Surface Science, 2021, 555: 149652 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149652
17	Y Li, D Gao, S Zhao, et al.. Carbon doped hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbon as efficient metal-free electrochemical nitrogen reduction catalyst. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2021, 410: 128419 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.128419
18	Q Sun, C Sun, A Du, et al.. In-plane graphene/boron–nitride heterostructures as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. Nanoscale, 2016, 8(29): 14084–14091 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6NR03288E pmid: 27396486
19	Y Huang, T Yang, L Yang, et al.. Graphene–boron nitride hybrid-supported single Mo atom electrocatalysts for efficient nitrogen reduction reaction. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2019, 7(25): 15173–15180 https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TA02947H
20	M Gao, M Nakahara, A Lyalin, et al.. Catalytic activity of gold clusters supported on the h-BN/Au(1 1 1) surface for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2021, 125(2): 1334–1344 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c08826
21	J Zhao, Z Chen. Carbon-doped boron nitride nanosheet: An efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015, 119(47): 26348–26354 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b09037
22	D B Nguyen, L N Tran. Assessment of electrocatalytic performance of metal-free C-doped BN nanoflakes for oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions: A comparative study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2018, 122(37): 21124–21131 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b04073
23	G Hu, Z Wu, S Dai, et al.. Interface engineering of earth-abundant transition metals using boron nitride for selective electroreduction of CO2. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2018, 10(7): 6694–6700 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b17600 pmid: 29385799
24	S Tang, X Zhou, T Liu, et al.. Single nickel atom supported on hybridized graphene–boron nitride nanosheet as a highly active bi-functional electrocatalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2019, 7(46): 26261–26265 https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TA10500J
25	Q Liu, C Chen, M Du, et al.. Porous hexagonal boron nitride sheets: Effect of hydroxyl and secondary amino groups on photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2018, 1(9): 4566–4575 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.8b00867
26	G Elumalai, H Noguchi, K Uosaki. Boron nitride nanosheets decorated with Au, Au–Ni, Au–Cu, or Au–Co nanoparticles as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 2019, 848: 113312 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2019.113312
27	H T Chen, Y J Huang, C T Li, et al.. Boron nitride/sulfonated polythiophene composite electrocatalyst as the TCO and Pt-free counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells: 21% at dim light. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2020, 8(13): 5251–5259 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c00097
28	Z Liu, M Zhang, H Wang, et al.. Defective carbon-doped boron nitride nanosheets for highly efficient electrocatalytic conversion of N2 to NH3. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2020, 8(13): 5278–5286 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c00330
29	Y Min, X Zhou, J J Chen, et al.. Integrating single-cobalt-site and electric field of boron nitride in dechlorination electrocatalysts by bioinspired design. Nature Communications, 2021, 12(1): 303 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20619-w
30	G Elumalai, H Noguchi, H C Dinh, et al.. An efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction to water-boron nitride nanosheets decorated with small gold nanoparticles (~ 5 nm) of narrow size distribution on gold substrate. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 2018, 819: 107–113 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2017.09.033
31	A Guha, T V Vineesh, A Sekar, et al.. Mechanistic insight into enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction activity of ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride-modified Pt electrodes. ACS Catalysis, 2018, 8(7): 6636–6644 https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.8b00938
32	D Q Liu, B Tao, H C Ruan, et al.. Metal support effects in electrocatalysis at hexagonal boron nitride. Chemical Communications, 2019, 55(5): 628–631 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CC08517J pmid: 30556069
33	L Chen, M Zhou, Z Luo, et al.. Template-free synthesis of carbon-doped boron nitride nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2019, 241: 246–255 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.09.034
34	K Uosaki, G Elumalai, H C Dinh, et al.. Highly efficient electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction at insulating boron nitride nanosheet on inert gold substrate. Scientific Reports, 2016, 6: 32217 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32217
35	I M Patil, M Lokanathan, B Ganesan, et al.. Carbon nanotube/boron nitride nanocomposite as a significant bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions. Chemistry, 2017, 23(3): 676–683 https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201604231 pmid: 27709715
36	Q Li, L Li, X Yu, et al.. Ultrafine platinum particles anchored on porous boron nitride enabling excellent stability and activity for oxygen reduction reaction. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 399: 125827 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.125827
37	Y Zhang, H Du, Y Ma, et al.. Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheet for effective ambient N2 fixation to NH3. Nano Research, 2019, 12(4): 919–924 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2323-x

[1]	Wenyu WU, Bin GUO, Xiaojing LIU, Huaxin MA, Zhao ZHANG, Zhi ZHANG, Minghao CUI, Yu GU, Ruijun ZHANG. Facile and scalable preparation of ultra-large boron nitride nanosheets and their use for highly thermally conductive polymer composites[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2022, 16(1): 220587-.
[2]	Wenqing ZHENG, Han SUN, Xinping LI, Shu ZHANG, Zhuoxun YIN, Wei CHEN, Yang ZHOU. Fe-doped NiCo₂O₄ hollow hierarchical sphere as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2021, 15(4): 577-588.
[3]	Jingze ZHANG, Sheng ZHU, Yulin MIN, Qunjie XU. Mn-doped perovskite-type oxide LaFeO₃ as highly active and durable bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen electrode reactions[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2020, 14(4): 459-468.
[4]	Pengzhang LI, Chuanjin TIAN, Wei YANG, Wenyan ZHAO, Zhe LÜ. LaNiO₃ modified with Ag nanoparticles as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc--air batteries[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2019, 13(3): 277-287.
[5]	Infant RAJ, Yongli DUAN, Daniel KIGEN, Wang YANG, Liqiang HOU, Fan YANG, Yongfeng LI. Catalytically enhanced thin and uniform TaS₂ nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2018, 12(3): 239-246.
[6]	M. Mohamed Jaffer SADIQ, U. Sandhya SHENOY, D. Krishna BHAT. Synthesis of BaWO₄/NRGO‒g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites with excellent multifunctional catalytic performance via microwave approach[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2018, 12(3): 247-263.
[7]	V. CHELLASAMY, P. THANGADURAI. Structural and electrochemical investigations of nanostructured NiTiO₃ in acidic environment[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2017, 11(2): 162-170.
[8]	Qinglin SHENG, Dan ZHANG, Yu SHEN, Jianbin ZHENG. Synthesis of hollow Prussian blue cubes as an electrocatalyst for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2017, 11(2): 147-154.
[9]	Hong LIN, Ye ZHANG, Gang WANG, Jian-Bao LI. Cobalt-based layered double hydroxides as oxygen evolving electrocatalysts in neutral eletrolyte[J]. Front Mater Sci, 2012, 6(2): 142-148.

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed