Surface engineering of Rh catalysts with N/S co-doped carbon nanosheets towards high performance hydrogen evolution from seawater

In this study, rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles modified by N/S co-doped carbon nanosheets were prepared as high performance HER interface electrocatalyst in seawater. Such in situ formed mesoporous graphene-like nanosheets obtained by pyrolysis of guanine sulfate are thin and have high surface areas of 437.1 m2/g, which allow homogeneously dispersion of Rh nanoparticles. The Rh catalysts show unexpected electronic asymmetry depending on the intensity of Rh-support interaction. The X-ray photoelectron spectra results indicate that the introduction of sulfur within graphene-like nanosheets can enhance the interaction between Rh nanoparticles and carbon supports, which promotes the electrons to be deviated from Rh and transferred to the interface of Rh and carbon, leading to a novel interface catalyst. Benefiting from the formation of electron-rich interface, this as-prepared Rh-based interface catalyst exhibits superior HER activity during the whole pH range, very close to the commercial 20% Pt/C even when the l...