Ir Nanoparticles Supported on Oxygen-Deficient Vanadium Oxides Prepared by a Polyoxovanadate Precursor for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Developing highly active electrocatalysts is crucial for the application of electrocatalytic water splitting. In this study, we prepared vanadium oxide–graphene carbon nanocomposites (VxOy/C) with abundant defects using a carbon- and oxygen-rich hexavanadate derivative Na2[V6O7{(OCH2)3CCH3}4] as a precursor without the addition of an extra carbon source. Subsequently, the VxOy/C was used as a catalyst support to load a small amount of Ir, forming the Ir/VxOy/C nanoelectrocatalyst. This catalyst exhibited low hydrogen evolution overpotentials of only 18.90 and 13.46 mV at a working current density of 10 mA cm–2 in 1.0 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte systems, outperforming the commercial Pt/C catalysts. Additionally, the catalyst showed excellent chemical stability and long-term durability. This work provides a new strategy for the design and synthesis of highly active electrocatalysts for water splitting.