Sulfur doped Co3O4 catalyst for efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction at high current density

Abstract

The development of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with excellent stability at high current density is key to achieving efficient hydrogen production, and spinel Co3O4 is a promising alternative material, yet its application to high current density remains challenging. Here, we employ doping engineering to apply Co3O4 modified by S to the OER. The doping of S optimizes the electronic environment of Co and generates richer oxygen defects, leading to excellent catalytic performance and cycling stability at high current density. The best performing S–Co3O4-45@NF catalyst that required 265 mV to achieve 10 mA/cm2. Furthermore, it exhibits outstanding cycling durability at 10, 200 and 1200 mA/cm2 as well as excellent mass transfer performance in multi-step current tests. The present work provides ideas for the development of low-cost and efficient transition metal-based electrocatalysts at high current density.