Abstract
Metal sulfides are considered excellent materials for oxygen evolution reaction because of their excellent conductivity and high electrocatalytic activity. In this report, the NiS-Cu2S composites were prepared on copper foam (NiS-Cu2S-CF) using a facile synthetic strategy. The scanning electron microscopy results confirmed that the NiS nanoneedles were successfully grown on Cu2S nanoflakes, greatly increasing the active sites. Particularly, the optimized 15% NiS-Cu2S-CF composite demonstrated excellent oxygen evolution activity with a small overpotential of 308 mV@20 mA cm−2, which is significantly smaller than that of noble metal-based electrocatalysts and other NiS-Cu2S-CF composites. The enhanced oxygen evolution activity is attributed to the unique morphology that can provide ample active sites, rich ion-transfer pathways, and the synergistic effect between NiS and Cu2S, which can boost the electron transfer rate.
Highlights
IntroductionPrecious metal-based materials, including RuO2 and IrO2 , are considered excellent electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) [1,2]
The Cu2 O was fabricated on copper foam (CF) using the electrochemical-corrosion method; the Cu2 S-CF was formed by the sulfidation of Cu2 O-CF; the NiS was grown on Cu2 S-CF by a facile hydrothermal method
The NiS-Cu2 S-CF composites with a unique morphology were successfully prepared using a facile method
Summary
Precious metal-based materials, including RuO2 and IrO2 , are considered excellent electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) [1,2]. Their scarcity and high cost prevent them from being used on a large scale. The development of earth-abundant, low-cost, high-performance catalysts to replace precious-metal-based electrocatalysts has become critical. Luo et al synthesized the NiS/C3 N4 composites for oxygen evolution, which displayed a small overpotential of 334 mV@10 mA cm−2 [23]. Constructed a NiS/Fe3 O4 composite with a small overpotential of 310 mV@10 mA cm−2 for OER [24]. These results suggest that the NiS-Cu2 S-CF composite be a candidate for oxygen evolution
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