Issue 24, 2015

Facile synthesis of CoX (X = S, P) as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Developing environmentally-friendly and earth-abundant electrocatalysts is desirable for an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report a facile and controllable synthesis of CoX (X = S, P) nanocatalysts by the chemical conversion of thin Co(OH)2 nanoplates under mild conditions. Both catalysts delivered high catalytic activity for HER. Small onset potentials of 59 and 32 mV, along with low Tafel slopes of 56.2 and 54.8 mV dec−1, were observed for CoS and CoP, respectively. Analyses suggest that the better HER performance of CoP nanocatalysts could be attributed to the intrinsically more positively charged nature of the Co metal center, the longer Co–P bond length, and more catalytic active sites due to the smaller size of the CoP nanocatalysts. High catalytic stability in acidic media was also observed for both CoS and CoP catalysts for a duration of 18 hours.

Graphical abstract: Facile synthesis of CoX (X = S, P) as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Apr 2015
Accepted
13 May 2015
First published
13 May 2015

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015,3, 13066-13071

Author version available

Facile synthesis of CoX (X = S, P) as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

J. Li, X. Zhou, Z. Xia, Z. Zhang, J. Li, Y. Ma and Y. Qu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 13066 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA03153B

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