NiFeS as a highly efficient earth-abundant co-catalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 11; no. 32; pp. 1766 - 1778
• Main Authors: Zander, Judith, Marschall, Roland
• Format: Journal Article
• Published: 16.08.2023
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d3ta02439c

The earth abundant sulphide Ni 2 FeS 4 was used as a highly efficient co-catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over TiO 2 , boosting the activity of pure TiO 2 (P25) by a factor of more than 8 under AM 1.5G simulated sunlight, thus presenting a promising alternative to platinum or rhodium co-catalysts. Low metal-sulphide loadings of only 0.5 wt% (0.29 wt% of metals) could be realised, thereby rivalling common loadings of noble metal co-catalysts at significantly lower material costs. The performance was stable under 1 sun irradiation and no decrease in the activity was observed over 20 h of irradiation. The synthesis of Ni 2 FeS 4 is based on low-cost precursors and can be completed after only 1 min at 200 °C in the microwave, without need for toxic H 2 S, presenting an energy efficient and cost-effective possibility to obtain large amounts of such co-catalysts in a short time. This combination of a fast and cheap synthesis together with a high efficiency and stability makes Ni 2 FeS 4 an outstanding candidate for the use as co-catalyst for the HER with sunlight. Earth abundant Ni 2 FeS 4 was used as a highly efficient co-catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction over TiO 2 , as an alternative to noble metal co-catalysts.