Integrating Carbon Quantum Dots for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance

As electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) emerges as a critical technology for sustainable H 2 production, constructing efficient electrocatalysts remains imperative. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have demonstrated significant potential for enhancing transition metal oxide catalysts. Herein, we developed WO 3 nanoparticles integrated with CQDs through hydrothermal synthesis. This designed architecture synergistically combines quantum confinement effects with interfacial charge modulation to address the inherent limitations of WO 3 -based HER catalysts. The introduce of CQDs endows abundant active sites into the WO 3 structure and enhances charge transfer kinetics, collectively improving HER activity. Through systematic optimization of CQDs doping ratios, the 5 ѡt% CQD-doped WO 3 composite demonstrates superior electrocatalytic HER performance, achieving an overpotential of 580 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and a Tafel slope of 42.66 mV dec −1 . This represents a 2.38-fold kinetic enhancement relative to pristine WO 3 (101.73 mV dec −1 ).