Three-dimensional carbon network-supported black phosphorus-cobalt heterojunctions: An efficient electrocatalyst for high-rate oxygen evolution

Abstract

Black phosphorus (BP), as a burgeoning two-dimensional material, has shown good electrocatalytic activity due to its unique electronic structure and abundant active sites.However, the presence of lone pair electrons in black phosphorus leads to its poor stability and rapid degradation in an oxygen/water environment, which greatly limits its practical application. Herein, BP-Co heterojunctions were synthesized on carbon nanotube@nitrogen-doped carbon (BP-Co/CNT@NC) by the pyrolysis of ZnCo-zeolitic imidazolate frameworks and subsequent solvothermal treatment. The BP-Co Schottky junction improved the electrocatalytic stability of BP, modulated its electronic structure, improved its conductivity and electron transfer during the electrocatalytic reaction. Density functional theory calculation was used to confirm the electron transfer and redistribution at the interface between BP and Co, which constructed an oppositely charged region and formed a strong built-in field. Energy band configuration analysis revealed a narrowed band gap because of the formation of BP-Co Schottky junction. Consequently, the optimized BP-Co/CNT@NC exhibited a superior oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, a low overpotential of 370 mV@100 mA/cm2, with a small Tafel slope of 40 mV/dec and good long-term stability. Particularly, the catalyst has an excellent OER performance at the high current density of 100–400 mA/cm2. This strategy improves the stability of BP electrocatalysts and strengthens their utilization in electrocatalytic applications.