Issue 13, 2020

One-step fabrication of a self-supported Co@CoTe2 electrocatalyst for efficient and durable oxygen evolution reactions

Abstract

We report a very convenient and cost-effective approach for the fabrication of a self-supported Co@CoTe2 electrode comprising CoTe2 nanoparticles used for water oxidation catalysis, which is achieved by one-step hydrothermal treatment of commercially available cobalt foam. The characteristics of the as-fabricated Co@CoTe2 electrode in terms of the crystal structure, surface morphology and chemical components were analyzed. Moreover, the electrochemical properties of the Co@CoTe2 electrocatalyst used for water electrolysis were comprehensively investigated. When used to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1.0 M KOH, Co@CoTe2 electrodes exhibit outstanding catalytic activity and long-term durability, thus outperforming many well-studied cobalt based dichalcogenides (including tellurides, selenides and sulfides) that have been recently reported in the literature. Particularly, Co@CoTe2 prepared at 240 °C (Co@CoTe2-240) requires a low overpotential of only 286 mV to attain an anodic current density of 10 mA cm−2 and shows fast kinetics for the OER with a small Tafel slope of 42 mV dec−1. Moreover, the overpotential needed to maintain 10 mA cm−2 is merely increased by 20 mV after continuous OER electrolysis for 16 hours, exhibiting excellent long-term stability. Given the commercial availability of porous Co foam, the convenient and scalable approach of hydrothermal synthesis and the outstanding catalytic performance, the self-supported Co@CoTe2 electrode reported here holds great promise as an important OER electrocatalyst in water splitting devices and metal–air batteries.

Graphical abstract: One-step fabrication of a self-supported Co@CoTe2 electrocatalyst for efficient and durable oxygen evolution reactions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
30 Mar 2020
Accepted
22 May 2020
First published
25 May 2020

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2020,7, 2523-2532

One-step fabrication of a self-supported Co@CoTe2 electrocatalyst for efficient and durable oxygen evolution reactions

Y. Qi, J. Wu, J. Xu, H. Gao, Z. Du, B. Liu, L. Liu and D. Xiong, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2020, 7, 2523 DOI: 10.1039/D0QI00372G

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