Rational Design and Spontaneous Sulfurization of NiCo‐(oxy)Hydroxysulfides Nanosheets with Modulated Local Electronic Configuration for Enhancing Oxygen Electrocatalysis

Abstract

AbstractTransition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) have been identified as pre‐electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the high valent TMs in the in situ generated oxyhydroxides are considered to be the real OER catalytic center. However, the role of chalcogens for OER process has been ignored and not fully elucidated. Herein, it is discovered that about 2.8–3.5% of chalcogens remain in as oxidized derivatives at a steady state, which plays a vital role for enhancing the catalytic activity. A facile and spontaneous sulfurizing method is developed to synthesize sulfur‐doped NiCo‐(oxy)hydroxysulfides (NCOSH) nanosheets, in which the sulfur can directly bond with high‐valence TMs and keep them stable for OER catalysis. Theoretical and experimental results suggest that the S‐coordination in NCOSH can cause bond length strengthening and electronic modulation between TM‐S and TM‐O, thus enhancing the oxidation activity and stability of high‐valence TMs in NCOSH. Consequently, the as‐obtained NCOSH exhibits superior bifunctional activities and durability for oxygen electrocatalytic reactions, and also serves as a superb air cathode in rechargeable solid state Zn‐air batteries. This work sheds light on the rational design of (oxy)hydroxysulfides as efficient electrocatalysts and gains deeper fundamental insights on the enhancing mechanism of S in oxyhydroxysulfides for diverse electrochemical applications.