Sustainable energy generation: High-performance NiCo2S4@S-g-C3N4 bifunctional electrocatalyst advances water splitting efficiency

Abstract

Efforts to create cost-effective electrocatalysts from abundant materials, for the utilization of water electrolysis reactions, are viewed as promising sources for sustainable clean energy generation. This article describes the synthesis of cobalt sulphide (CoS) nanoparticles using a straightforward and environmentally friendly one-pot hydrothermal process. The series of nickel-doped CoS (NiCo2-x S4) introduced with varying the weight percentage of Ni (1, 2, 4, 8, 6, and 10 wt%), and the composite Ni-dopped CoS on varying the weight percentage (10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 wt %) of sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (NiCo2S4@S-g-C3N4) was created. Utilizing X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), EDS, FTIR, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) synthesized electrocatalysts were characterized. Doped with Fluorine After being changed with an electrocatalyst, tin oxide was used as the working electrode to monitor the electrochemical activity of the whole water splitting process using chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and EIS. NiCo2S4@S-g-C3N4 exhibited higher electrocatalytic performance with an overpotential 370 mV for OER and 415 mV for HER at the current intensity of 10 mAcm−2. Transition metal sulfide electrocatalysts exhibit good electrolytic performance, due to their high surface areas and intrinsically high catalytic activity. These findings suggest that the NiCo2S4@S-g-C3N4 composite possesses a significant role for use in energy conversion and energy storage applications.