Controlled Fabrication of Mo2C/C Nanospheres via Electrospinning Technique as Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

A strategy was proposed for the synthesis of Mo₂C/C composite as an efficient electrocatalyst through electrospinning and calcination. PVP and PAN were utilized as electrospinning precursors for comparative analysis. Morphological characterization revealed that an electrospinning solution with the viscosity in the range of 2–5 mPa·S was conducive to the formation of spherical morphology. Under calcination at nitrogen atmosphere, as-electrospun Mo@PVP-1 and Mo@PAN-1 samples transformed into Mo₂C/C with bead-like structure at 900 and 800 °C, respectively. Compared to PVP, PAN exhibited greater resistance to deformation at elevated temperature, resulting in better-dispersed spherical Mo₂C/C composite. The synthesized Mo₂C/C exhibited good electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction. The Tafel slopes of Mo₂C/C prepared from Mo@PVP-1-900 and Mo@PAN-1-800 were 75.85 and 164.7 mV·dec⁻¹, respectively. This work contributes to the understanding of synthetic process of spherical Mo₂C/C composites through electrospinning, providing an effective way to improve material performance.

Graphical Abstract

Mo₂C/C composites were synthesized by calcination with different polymer solutions (PAN and PVP) by electrostatic spraying, and their performance as catalysts was tested.