Quenching to optimize the crystalline/amorphous ratio of CoPS nanorods for hydrazine-assisted total water decomposition at ampere-level current density

Abstract

Directional construction of crystalline/amorphous (c/a)-phosphosulfide heterostructures with exceptional intrinsic activity through a facile strategy is challenging. In this study, we synthesized q-CoPS nanorods with a unique c/a-CoPS core-shell heterostructure through the ‘gas-phase phosphorus vulcanization-quenching' treatment. This work also innovatively masters the regulation of the initial quenching temperature to alter the c/a ratio of the CoPS nanorods. Surprisingly, with increasing initial quenching temperature, the area of the amorphous CoPS shell gradually increases. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Co sites at the c/a-heterointerface, as the difunctional c/a-interface active site, effectively optimize the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR). As anticipated, q-CoPS/CF requires an overpotential of only 90 mV at a current density of 1000 mA cm^–2 for the alkaline HER, which is much lower than that required using the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst. Additionally, q-CoPS/CF achieves a current density of 1000 mA cm^–2 at only 0.06 V in the HzOR. Overall, this work proposes an efficient strategy for developing a bifunctional electrocatalyst with a unique c/a-heterostructure to address future energy needs.