Electrodeposition-derived defect-rich heterogeneous trimetallic sulfide/hydroxide nanotubes/nanobelts for efficient electrocatalytic oxygen production

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 430; p. 133073
• Main Authors: Yu, Xing, Zhang, Weiwei, She, Lulu, Zhu, Yanyan, Fautrelle, Yves, Ren, Zhongming, Cao, Guanghui, Lu, Xionggang, Li, Xi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.02.2022
• Subjects: Cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition; Defect-rich; Heterogeneous crystalline (Ni, Fe, Co)S2/amorphous NiFeCo(OH)y; Nanotubes/nanobelts; OER electrocatalysts; Heterogeneous crystalline (Ni, Fe, Co)S2/amorphous NiFeCo(OH)y; Nanotubes/nanobelts; OER electrocatalysts; Cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition; Defect-rich
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.133073

[Display omitted] •Heterogeneous Ni-Fe-Co-based nanotubes/nanobelts (nNFCS NTs/NBs) are fabricated.•The nNFCS catalyst for OER achieves an ultralow overpotential and Tafel slop.•The crystalline sulfide/amorphous hydroxide heterostructures enhance the catalytic activity.•The incorporation of Fe, Co, Ni improves the catalytic activity.•One-dimensional NTs/NBs structure with rich defects boosts the catalytic activity. Developing heterogeneous polymetallic sulfide/hydroxide nanotubes or nanobelts as highly efficient and noble-free electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with sluggish kinetics is rarely reported. Herein, defect-rich heterogeneous crystalline (Ni, Fe, Co)S2/amorphous NiFeCo(OH)y nanotubes/nanobelts (nNFCS NTs/NBs) are fabricated mainly by a facile cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition. By enriching exposing active sites and optimizing coordination environment via the construction of crystalline sulfide/amorphous hydroxide heterostructures, incorporation of Fe, Co, Ni, rich surface defects, and one-dimensional NTs/NBs structure, the nNFCS catalyst presents a fascinating OER electrocatalytic activity. Ultralow overpotentials of 193 and 225 mV at 10 and 150 mA cm−2, respectively, are achieved with a small Tafel slop of 36.9 mV dec−1, which excels most reported sulfide, hydroxide catalysts and IrO2. This work offers a significant guidance for designing advanced earth-abundant OER catalysts by incorporating several strategies of enriching surface defects and elevating catalytic activity properly.