Schmiedecke, B.; Wu, B.; Schultz, T.; Koch, N.; Sofer, Z.; Browne, M. P.: Partially Exfoliated and Oxidized V2CTx MXene as a Beneficial Support for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction. ChemElectroChem 12 (2025), p. e202500220/1-13
10.1002/celc.202500220
Open Accesn Version
Abstract:
The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a critical bottleneck in water-splitting technologies. Hence, developing efficient and sta- ble OER electrocatalysts is one of the key parameters to improve this technology. Recently, MXenes such as Ti 3 C 2Tx and V2 CTx have shown promise as OER-enhancing additives when combined with transition metal oxides. However, MXene synthesis requires energy-intensive processes, and the materials are prone to oxida- tion in various environments, such as air, or during electrochemi- cal reactions. While this oxidation is typically considered detrimental, this study investigates whether partially exfoliated and oxidized V2 CTx can maintain or even enhance OER perfor- mance, potentially simplifying the synthesis requirements for V2 CTx. In this study, V2 CTx is intentionally oxidized and incorpo- rated into CuCo-based composites at various loadings. X-ray dif- fraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm the presence of vanadium oxide species in the partially exfoliated and oxidized V 2 CTx. The electrochemical investigations reveal that the partially exfoliated and oxidized V2 CTx enhances the OER per- formance compared to fresh V2 CTx. These findings suggest that, unlike Ti 3C 2 Tx , partially exfoliated and oxidized V 2CTx retains its functionality in OER catalysis and even outperforms its fresh counterpart, providing a more accessible and efficient platform for water-splitting applications.