Electrocatalyst for water electrolysis and preparing method of the same

Abstract

Discloses are an electrocatalyst for a water electrolysis and a method of preparing the same, which includes a support made of a MXene having a two-dimensional structure; and a transition metal compound located on and heterogeneously bonded to the support, thereby increasing electrochemical activity by improving the operation stability and increasing the surface area compared to conventional commercial catalysts.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electrocatalyst for water electrolysis, comprising:
 a support made of a MXene having a two-dimensional structure; and   a transition metal compound located on and heterogeneously bonded to the support.   
     
     
         2 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the transition metal compound comprises transition metal phosphide. 
     
     
         3 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 2 , wherein the transition metal phosphide comprises one or more selected from a group consisting of Ni 2 P, Fe 2 P, MoP, CoP and WP. 
     
     
         4 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the support is for a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or an oxygen evolution reaction (OER). 
     
     
         5 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the support is applied simultaneously to a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a water electrolysis cell. 
     
     
         6 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the MXene comprises a compound based on the following Chemical Formula 1: 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         where, ‘a’ is an integer from 2 to 4, ‘b’ is an integer from 1 to 3, and ‘X’ is carbon (C) or nitrogen (N). 
       
     
     
         7 . The electrocatalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the support has a surface modified with one or more functional groups selected from a group consisting of —O, —OH and —F. 
     
     
         8 . A method of preparing an electrocatalyst for water electrolysis, the method comprising:
 a precursor solution preparation step of preparing a precursor solution by dissolving a transition metal precursor in an organic solvent;   a mixed solution preparation step of supplying a phosphorus precursor to the precursor solution to form a mixed solution; and   a MXene injection step of supplying a support solution containing a MXene to the mixed solution to prepare an electrocatalyst for water electrolysis.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the transition metal precursor comprises one or more selected from a group consisting of nickel acetate, iron acetate, molybdenum acetate, cobalt acetate, and tungsten acetate. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the phosphorus precursor comprises an alkyl phosphine-based material. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the alkyl phosphine comprises one or more selected from a group consisting of triethyl phosphine, tributyl phosphine, trioctyl phosphine, triphenyl phosphine, and tricyclohexyl phosphine.