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. 2023 Jan 4;13(2):1229-1235.
doi: 10.1039/d2ra06325e. eCollection 2023 Jan 3.

Ligand-assisted morphology regulation of AuNi bimetallic nanocrystals for efficient hydrogen evolution

Chu Zhang  1 , Can Xue  1
Affiliations

Ligand-assisted morphology regulation of AuNi bimetallic nanocrystals for efficient hydrogen evolution

Chu Zhang et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

We report the controllable synthesis of AuNi core-shell (c-AuNi) and Janus (j-AuNi) nanocrystals (NCs) with uniform shape, tunable size and compositions in the presence of trioctylphosphine (TOP) or triphenylphosphine (TPP). The morphology of the AuNi bimetallic NCs could be regulated by varying the structure and concentration of phosphine ligands. The ligand-directed structural evolution mechanism of AuNi bimetallic NCs was investigated and discussed in detail. When loaded on graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) for photocatalytic hydrogen generation, the obtained j-AuNi NCs showed much higher activity for hydrogen evolution than the monometallic (Au and Ni) counterparts, owing to the synergistic effect of plasmon enhanced light absorption from the Au portion and additional electron sink effect from the Ni portion. This work provides a promising route for preparing low-cost Au-based bimetallic catalysts with controllable morphologies and high activities for hydrogen production.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. (a and b) TEM image, and (c) XRD pattern of c-AuNi NCs, (d) Au 4f XPS spectra, and (e) Ni 2p XPS spectra of as-synthesized Au NPs, Ni NPs and c-AuNi NCs.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. (a) TEM image, (b) HR-TEM image, and (c) XRD pattern of j-AuNi NCs, (d) Au 4f XPS spectra, and (e) Ni 2p XPS spectra of as-synthesized Au NCs Ni NPs and j-AuNi NCs.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. TEM images of the samples obtained with different amount of TPP: (a) 0.1 mmol, (b) 0.2 mmol, (c) 0.6 mmol.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Schematic illustration of the synthetic process of c-AuNi NCs.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. TEM images of the samples synthesized with different amount and type of ligands: (a) 0.4 mmol TPP, (b) 0.2 mmol TOP.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. Schematic illustration of the synthetic process of j-AuNi NCs.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. (a) Photocatalytic hydrogen production amount versus time over different metal NCs loaded GCN samples under visible-light irradiation; (b) cycling test results of c-AuNi/GCN and j-AuNi/GCN for H2 evolution. The H2 production amount is normalized by Au mass (g−1 Au).
Fig. 8
Fig. 8. (a) UV-vis absorption spectra of the samples; (b) the AQY at different light wavelengths over j-AuNi/GCN.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9. Schematic illustration of the photocatalytic processes of j-AuNi/GCN in TEOA solution.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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