Issue 18, 2016

Metallic Co9S8 nanosheets grown on carbon cloth as efficient binder-free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction in neutral media

Abstract

The development of efficient non-noble metal hydrogen-evolving electrocatalysts is of paramount importance for sustainable hydrogen production from water. Herein, we report the direct growth of metallic Co9S8 nanosheets on carbon cloth (CC) through a facile one-pot solvothermal method. We also show that the introduction of a tiny amount of Zn2+ ions (Zn : Co mol ratio of 0.5–1 : 100) in the synthesis system can reduce the thickness, improve the crystallinity, and optimize the surface structure of Co9S8 nanosheets, without Zn-doping. Furthermore, we show that the resulting Co9S8/CC materials can serve as efficient, binder-free, non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under neutral conditions (pH 7). In particular, the Co9S8/CC material (synthesized in the presence of Zn2+ ions) affords a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a low overpotential of 175 mV, has great catalytic stability as long as 100 h, and gives about 100% faradaic yield towards the HER in neutral media. The material's excellent catalytic performance toward the HER is attributed primarily to the synergistic effects of Co9S8's intrinsic catalytic ability, the ultrathin nanosheet array architecture and the self-supporting feature.

Graphical abstract: Metallic Co9S8 nanosheets grown on carbon cloth as efficient binder-free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction in neutral media

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 ኦክቶ 2015
Accepted
18 ዲሴም 2015
First published
18 ዲሴም 2015

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 6860-6867

Metallic Co9S8 nanosheets grown on carbon cloth as efficient binder-free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction in neutral media

L. Feng, M. Fan, Y. Wu, Y. Liu, G. Li, H. Chen, W. Chen, D. Wang and X. Zou, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 6860 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA08611F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements