V6O13 Micro-Flower Arrays Grown In Situ on Ni Foam as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution at Large Current Densities

Abstract

Developing a high-activity, robust and economic electrocatalyst for large-scale green hydrogen production is still of great significance. Herein, a novel V6O13 nanosheets self-assembled micro-flower array self-supporting electrode is synthesized using a facile one-pot hydrothermal route. Owing to the large electrochemically active surface area of a unique hierarchical micro-flower and the stable all-in-one structure, the as-prepared V6O13/NF electrode delivers impressive HER activity with extremely low overpotentials of 125 and 298 mV at large current densities of 100 and 1000 mA cm−2, respectively, and a long-term durability for at least 90 h in an alkaline condition. This work extends the application of vanadium oxides to the realm of electrocatalytic hydrogen fuel production.