| 1. |
- Dobrota, Ana S., et al.
(författare)
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A DFT study of the interplay between dopants and oxygen functional groups over the graphene basal plane - implications in energy-related applications
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 19:12, s. 8530-8540
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the ways graphene can be functionalized is of great importance for many contemporary technologies. Using density functional theory calculations we investigate how vacancy formation and substitutional doping by B, N, P and S affect the oxidizability and reactivity of the graphene basal plane. We find that the presence of these defects enhances the reactivity of graphene. In particular, these sites act as strong attractors for OH groups, suggesting that the oxidation of graphene could start at these sites or that these sites are the most difficult to reduce. Scaling between the OH and H adsorption energies is found on both reduced and oxidized doped graphene surfaces. Using the O-2 molecule as a probe we show that a proper modelling of doped graphene materials has to take into account the presence of oxygen functional groups.
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| 2. |
- Dobrota, Ana S., et al.
(författare)
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Functionalized graphene for sodium battery applications : the DFT insights
- 2017
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 250, s. 185-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering the increasing interest in the use of graphene-based materials for energy conversion and storage applications, we have performed a DFT study of Na interaction with doped graphene, both in non-oxidized and oxidized forms. Oxidation seems to play the crucial role when it comes to the interaction of doped graphene materials with sodium. The dopants act as attractors of OH groups, making the material prone to oxidation, and therefore altering its affinity towards Na. In some cases, this can result in hydroxide or water formation - an irreversible change lethal for battery performance. Our results suggest that one should carefully control the oxidation level of doped graphene-based materials if they are to be used as sodium battery electrode materials as the optimal oxidation level depends on the dopant type.
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| 3. |
- Gutic, Sanjin J., et al.
(författare)
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Improved catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solutions through the electrochemical formation of nickel-reduced graphene oxide interface
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 19:20, s. 13281-13293
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- H-2 production via water electrolysis plays an important role in hydrogen economy. Hence, novel cheap electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction ( HER) are constantly needed. Here, we describe a simple method for the preparation of composite catalysts for H-2 evolution, consisting in simultaneous reduction of the graphene oxide film, and electrochemical deposition of Ni on its surface. The obtained composites (Ni@rGO), compared to pure electrodeposited Ni, show an improved electrocatalytic activity towards HER in alkaline media. We found that the activity of the Ni@rGO catalysts depends on the surface composition ( Ni vs. C mole ratio) and on the level of structural disorder of the rGO support. We suggest that HER activity is improved via H-ads spillover from the Ni particles to the rGO support, where quick recombination to molecular hydrogen is favored. A deeper insight into such a mechanism of H-2 production was achieved by kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations. These simulations enabled the reproduction of experimentally observed trends under the assumption that the support can act as a Hads acceptor. We expect that the proposed procedure for the production of novel HER catalysts could be generalized and lead to the development of a new generation of HER catalysts by tailoring the catalyst/support interface.
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