Cooperation of iron and bismuth for the synthesis of ternary metal sulfide as self-supporting electrode for enhanced water oxidation

Abstract

The transition-metal sulfides are highly considered as alternatives to noble-metal-based catalysts for water splitting. Herein, the ternary metal sulfide (NFBS/NF) is constructed by the incorporation of Fe and Bi via facile solvothermal method. The unique lone-pair electrons induced effect gives rise to enhancement of active sites and conductivity, which facilitates adsorption/desorption and fast charge transfer for oxygen-containing intermediates. As-obtained NFBS/NF shows comparable activity with a low overpotential of 219 mV @ 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 79 mV dec−1, attributing to the active centers of Ni and Fe atoms, and increased active sites by Bi modification. In addition, NFBS/NF exhibits robust oxygen process during the i-t-test for 20 h, indicating a promising ternary metal sulfide for alkaline water splitting.