Catalytic activity Enhanced meChanisms Of TRANSition metal decorated N-doped carbon by precursor acid treatment

Project Information

EcoTrans

Grant agreement ID: 101032072

DOI

10.3030/101032072

Project closed

EC signature date 29 April 2021

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 20 June 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 224 933,76

EU contribution

€ 224 933,76

Coordinated by

THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EcoTrans (Catalytic activity Enhanced meChanisms Of TRANSition metal decorated N-doped carbon by precursor acid treatment)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

I. Muhammad Abdul Qadeer, Xiaoxue Zhang, Muhammad Asim Farid, M Tanveer, Yichang Yan, Shangfeng Du, Zhen-Feng Huang, Muhammad Tahir*, Ji-Jun Zou; A review on fundamentals for designing hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst; Journal of Power Sources 613 (2024) 234856.
II. Sana Ullah, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asim Farid, Faiza Anjum, Roohul Amin, Shangfeng Du, Ji-Jun Zou, Zhen-Feng Huang, Muhammad Tahir*; Sulfurization of Bimetallic (Co and Fe) Oxide and Alloy Decorated on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting; Heliyon 10 (2024) e32989.
III. Hafiz Muhammad Naeem Ullah, Nouraiz Mushtaq, Sajid Ur Rehman, Zeeshan Tariq, SS Ali, Muhammad Tahir, Chuanbo Li, Xiaoming Zhang, Junbai Li; Manganese doped tailored cobalt sulfide as an accelerated catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 678 (2025) 1087–1095.
IV. Sana Ullah, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asim Farid, Shaheen Irfan, Roohul Amin, Ahmed M Fouda, Atif Nazir, Dehua Hou, Ji-Jun Zou, Shangfeng Du, Muhammad Tahir*; Molybdenum tungsten hydrogen oxide doped with phosphorus for enhanced oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions; RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 27928.
V. Muhammad Tahir, Muhammad Asim Farid, Elvin Aliyev, Zhenfeng Huang, Ji‐Jun Zou, Shangfeng Du; Cobalt Phosphide Decorating Metallic Cobalt with a Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nano‐Shell Surpasses Platinum Group Metals for Oxygen Electrocatalysis Applications; Battery Energy, 2024; 20240029.
VI. Muhammad Abdul Qadeer, Iqra Fareed, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asim Farid, Sadia Nazir, Faheem K Butt, Ji-Jun Zou, Muhammad Tahir, Shangfeng Du; Nanostructured Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Photocatalytic and Electrochemical Applications; DOI: 10.61558/2993-074X.3498.
VII. Jianhua Hou, Haoyi Wang, Rongrong Qin, Qikai Zhang, Di Wu, Zhenhua Hou, Wei Yang, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Tahir, Weiqin Yin, Yongcai Zhang, Xiaozhi Wang; Grinding preparation of 2D/2D g-C3N4/BiOCl with oxygen vacancy heterostructure for improved visible-light-driven photocatalysis; Carbon Research (2024) 3:1, https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-023-00089-7.
VIII. Areej Zubair, Faisal Nawaz, Masood ul Hassan Farooq, Iqra Fareed, Muhammad Danish Khan, Zulfiqar Ali, Mariam Nawaz, Hafiza Sadia Anam, Muhammad Tahir, Faheem K Butt; Novel CoVO/WxOy composites for methylene blue photodegradation and electrocatalytic applications; Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 186 (2025) 109104.
IX. Iqra Fareed, Muhammad Danish Khan, Yahya Sandali, Afrah Alzahrani, Tahmina Maqsood, Shania Rehman, Muhammad Bilal, Faheem K Butt, Muhammad Tahir; Unveiling novel SnS2/Zn2V2O7 composite for water splitting and ascorbic acid detection; Surfaces and Interfaces 58 (2025) 105757.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

1. Preparation of Co2P/Co@NC
Step 1: Synthesis of Co(OH)2: A solution of 0.714 g CoCl2·6H2O and 0.180 g urea in 20 mL deionized water is sonicated for 1 h, then hydrothermally treated at 200°C for 24 h in a 50 mL autoclave. The resulting product is washed with water/ethanol and dried at 60°C for 24 h.
Step 2: Nitrogen-Doped Carbon (NC) Precursor: 1.0 g melamine is dissolved in 30 mL ethylene glycol, followed by dropwise addition of 60 mL 0.2 M HNO₃ under stirring. The white precipitate is washed with ethanol and dried at 60°C for 12 h.
Step 3: Co@NC Formation: 0.1 g Co(OH)2 and 1.0 g NC precursor are dispersed in 20 mL ethanol, sonicated for 1 h, stirred for 1 h, and dried at 60°C. The mixture is annealed at 650–750°C (1°C/min, Ar flow) for 4 h.
Step 4: Co2P/CoP Synthesis: 0.25 g Co(OH)2 and 0.25 g Na2HPO₄·12H2O are dispersed in ethanol, sonicated, dried, and annealed at 700°C (Ar flow) to form Co2P.
Step 5: Co2P/Co@NC Composite: 1.0 g NC precursor, 0.1 g Na2HPO₄·12H2O, and 0.1 g Co(OH)2 are processed as above and annealed at 650–750°C. The final catalyst is labeled by temperature (e.g. Co2P/Co@NC-700).
2. Synthesis of NixFey@NC Catalysts
NC Precursor: Prepared identically to Step 2 above.
Single-Metal Catalysts (M@NC): 1.0 g NC precursor and 0.1 g metal (Ni, Fe, or Co) are sonicated in 20 mL ethanol, stirred, dried, and annealed at 700°C (N2 flow).
Bimetallic Catalysts (MM@NC): 0.1 g each of two metals (e.g. Ni+Fe) are mixed with 1.0 g NC precursor, processed as above, and annealed to yield NiFe@NC, CoFe@NC, or NiCo@NC.
Trimetallic Catalyst (NiCoFe@NC): 0.1 g each of Ni, Co, and Fe are combined with 1.0 g NC precursor, following the same protocol.
Tuned Compositions (NixFey@NC): Molar ratios of Ni:Fe (e.g. 1:1, 2:1) are adjusted during sonication and annealing (700°C, N2) to produce Ni1Fe1@NC, Ni2Fe1@NC, etc.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress of the Activities:
There are many progresses of the activities in the fields of research innovation, researcher's training and transfer of knowledge.
The research innovation includes:
1) A promising approach to address the challenges associated with oxygen electrocatalysis by introducing metallic cobalt/cobalt phosphide core wrapped in a nitrogen-doped conductive carbon shell Co2P/Co@NC.
2) Optimization of the Co-Fe composition in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) encapsulating CoFe nanoparticles via a simple wet-chemical synthesis for high OER and half-cell activity.
3) Designing of a novel 3D network-structured catalyst based on nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated Ni-Fe alloy (NiFe@NC), synthesized via a scalable wet chemical method for OER and half-cell activity.
Dr. Tahir participated in:
4) Training activities related to Lab Safety, Fuel Cell test, Half-cell test, RDE test, experimental skills (Use of gas cylinder, Centrifuge operation, operation of XRD, TGA, TEM, SEM, UV-vis, and Raman spectrometers, et al.).
5) Participated in WFCC-2023 in London.
The transfer’s knowledge is carried out among the host institute (University of Birmingham), the EU partners and Dr. Tahir, such as academic communication, sample tests and project proposals, while
6) Help in organization of World Fuel Cell Conference 2023


Impact
In addition, Dr. Tahir had the fantastic opportunity through Postdoctoral/Early Researcher Career Development and Training (PERCAT) at UoB to engage in a series of meetings with a mentor. This proved to be a mind-opening experience regarding the significance of values and personal integrity in an increasingly competitive world. In this course he gained insights into the vital importance of aligning personal values with those of employers. He also acquired valuable knowledge about defining and pursuing future ambitions through goal setting. This experience has been immensely beneficial, and I highly recommend it to fellow researchers. Additionally, he has expanded my international network by joining associations, including a year-long membership with the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has also been invited to serve as an international reviewer for grant evaluations and currently hold the position of Reviewer in the Frontiers in Chemistry. In pursuit of independence, He has established his independent research program and submitted grant applications. Looking ahead, his aspiration is to submit an ERC Advanced Grant to establish and lead a research group.

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