Boosted Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis Using Biomass-Derived Mesoporous Carbon Nanosponges

Carbon-based metal-free catalysts, particularly those such as biomass-derived mesoporous activated carbon (AC) nanostructures, hold great promises for cost-effective and sustainable electrocatalysis for enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in green energy technology. Neem and ginkgo leaves are rich in bioactive compounds and self-doping heteroatoms with naturally porous structures and act as a low-cost, sustainable biomass precursors for high-performance HER catalysts. In this study, mesoporous AC nanoflakes and nanosponges were synthesized using biomass precursors of neem and ginkgo leaves through a KOH activation process. Notably, AC nanosponges derived from ginkgo leaves exhibited outstanding physicochemical characteristics, including a sponge-like porous morphology with a large specific surface area of 1025 m2/g. For electrochemical evaluation in 0.5 M H2SO4, the G-AC sample revealed superior electrocatalytic HER performance, with a remarkably low overpotential of 26 mV at −10 mA/cm2, a small Tafel slope of 24 mV/dec, and long-term durability over 30 h. These results depict biomass-derived mesoporous AC nanosponges to hold substantial potential for highly efficient hydrogen production, contributing significantly to the advancement of eco-friendly energy solutions.