Issue 11, 2023

Hierarchically porous Ni foam-supported Co and Sn doped Ni3S2 nanosheets for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

Abstract

To enter the era of a clean and sustainable hydrogen economy, it is crucial to first discover non-noble metal electrocatalysts that can be used for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) of water electrolyzers. Herein, we demonstrate highly active and durable Co- and Sn-co-doped Ni3S2 catalysts supported on Ni foam (CoSn-Ni3S2@NF) for the OER in alkaline media. Benefiting from the hierarchically porous nanosheet morphology and synergistic strong electron interaction among Co, Sn, and Ni ions, the CoSn-Ni3S2@NF achieves outstanding OER activity in 1 M KOH with a low overpotential of 321 mV at a current density of 0.2 A cm−2. Furthermore, the CoSn-Ni3S2@NF alkaline water electrolysis cell shows a significantly high current density of 1.367 A cm−2 at a cell voltage of 2.0 V under 80 °C and 30 wt% KOH condition using a nickel–iron layered double hydroxide for the hydrogen evolution reaction and a Zirfon PERL separator (500 μm). Based on the defect formation energy and electronic structure obtained using density functional theory calculation, the enhanced intrinsic activity of CoSn-Ni3S2@NF can be attributed to the Co and Sn dopants with S vacancies, which increase activation sites (and free electrons) and favorably modify the Ni 3d-band center to be closer to the Fermi level. This work not only demonstrates a highly electrocatalytic active OER catalyst for water electrolyzers, but also provides a new design principle that can be used for high performance materials by tailoring the electronic structure of transition and post transition metal ions.

Graphical abstract: Hierarchically porous Ni foam-supported Co and Sn doped Ni3S2 nanosheets for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Dec. 2022
Accepted
16 Febr. 2023
First published
22 Febr. 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 5734-5745

Hierarchically porous Ni foam-supported Co and Sn doped Ni3S2 nanosheets for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

W. Y. An, H. Lee, S. R. Choi, S. Choi, H. Cho, M. Choi and J. Park, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 5734 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA09361H

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