Ce-doping induces rapid electron transfer in a bimetallic phosphide heterostructure to achieve efficient hydrogen production.

Using electrochemical water splitting to generate hydrogen is considered a desirable approach, which is greatly impeded by the sluggish dissociation of H2O and adsorption and desorption of H*. Effective hydrogen production can be achieved by speeding up the chemical process with a suitable electrocatalyst. In this work, we designed and synthesized a rare earth element cerium (Ce) regulated iron-nickel bimetallic phosphide Ce-NiFeP@NF (here NiFeP represents Fe2P/NiP2) nanoarray with nanoflowers. For the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Ce-NiFeP@NF only needs an overpotential of 106 mV to provide a current density of 10 mA cm-2, compared to NiFeP@NF (175 mV@10 mA cm-2). This self-supported electrocatalyst Ce-NiFeP@NF with a composite morphology exhibits excellent performance in the HER. Specifically, the introduction of Ce promotes the electron transfer process at the Fe2P/NiP2 heterojunction interface and the Ce-NiFeP@NF nanocomposite structure with nanoflowers has a larger electrochemically active specific surface area, which is more conducive to improving the intrinsic catalytic activity. Also, a dual-electrode alkaline electrolytic cell (Ce-NiFeP@NF functions as both the anode and the cathode) operates with a cell voltage of only 1.56 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2. The synergistic effect of rare earth element doping and heterojunction engineering can improve the morphology of intrinsic catalysts to achieve more efficient electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production.

First halogen anion-bridged (MMX)(n)-type one-dimensional coordination polymer built upon d(10)-d(10) dimers.

The complex [Ag(2)(PhPPy(2))(2)(NCCH(3))(2)](ClO(4))(2) [PhPPy(2) = bis(2-pyridyl)phenylphosphine] reacts with NH(4)Cl to form an insoluble one-dimensional polymer of the type (MMX)(n), {[Ag(2)(PhPPy(2))(2)Cl](ClO(4))}(n). The binuclear unit, Ag(2)(PhPPy(2))(2)(2+), exhibits two PhPPy(2) tridentate ligands bridging the two Ag atoms in a head-to-tail fashion with C(2h) symmetry, and the Ag···Ag distance [3.0942(11) Å, X-ray] suggests argentophilic interactions. Each Ag center adopts a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry, coordinated by one P atom and two pyridyl arms at the equatorial positions and interacting with one Cl ion and one Ag ion at the axial positions. The short Ag-Cl bond length [2.5791(7) Å] indicates the presence of some covalent character. The solid-state absorption bands spread all the way to 600 nm have been interpreted by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (B3LYP), and the lowest-energy excited states are assigned to metal/halide-to-pyridyl charge transfer, consistent with the d(10) electronic configuration of Ag. The calculated oscillator strengths are low because of the poor molecular orbital overlaps in the charge-transfer components. The novel material exhibits a luminescence band centered at about ∼520 nm.

3D coordination networks based on supramolecular chains as building units: synthesis and crystal structures of two silver(I) pyridyldiethynides.

Two silver(I) pyridyldiethynides, [Ag2(3,5-C2PyC2).4CF3CO2Ag.4H2O] ( A) and [Ag 2(3,5-C2PyC2).3AgNO3.H2O](B), were synthesized by reactions of 3,5-diethynylpyridine with silver trifluoroacetate and silver nitrate in high yield, respectively. X-ray crystallographic studies revealed that in A pyridyldiethynide groups connect Ag 11 cluster units to generate 1D supramolecular chains as bridging ligands, where each ethynide group interacts with four silver atoms. These supramolecular chains bearing pyridyl groups are linked by silver ions to form wavelike layers, which are further connected by trifluoroacetate ligands to afford a 3D coordination network. However, B exhibits a different structural feature, where two ethynide groups in one pyridyldiethynide ligand coordinate to three and four silver atoms, respectively. These silver ethynide cluster units are linked through silver-ethynide and argentophilic interactions, leading to a double silver chain by sharing silver atoms in these units. In B, the silver double chains are further connected by bridging pyridyldiethynide groups to generate 2D networks, which interact through the Ag-N coordination bonds between silver atoms and pyridyl groups in the adjacent layers to generate a 3D coordination network. In these two compounds, trifluoroacetate and nitrate groups exhibit different bonding modes, indicating that the counterion is an important factor influencing the structures of supramolecular chains and coordination networks.