Advancing Oxygen Evolution Catalysis with Dual-Phase Nickel Sulfide Nanostructures.

Abstract

The production, conversion and storage of energy based on electrocatalysis, mainly assisted by oxygen evolution reaction (OER), plays a crucial role in alkaline water electrolyzers (AWEs) and fuel cells. Nevertheless, the insufficient availability of highly efficient catalyst materials at a reasonable cost that overcome the sluggish electrochemical kinetics of the OER is one of the significant obstacles. Herein, we report a fast and facile synthesis of vapor phase deposition of dual-phase nickel sulfide (Ni-sulfide) using low-temperature annealing in the presence of H₂S and demonstrated as an efficient catalyst for OER to address the issues with sluggish electrochemical kinetics. The dual-phase Ni-sulfide structures consist of densely packed 10-50 μm microcrystals with 40-50 individual dual-phase layers, such as NiS and Ni₇S₆. As an electrocatalyst, the dual-phase Ni-sulfide exhibits excellent OER activity by achieving a current density of 10 mA/cm² at an overpotential (η₁₀) of 0.29 V and excellent electrochemical stability over 50 h. Besides, the Ni-sulfide displays considerable electrochemical robustness in alkaline conditions and forms OER-active Ni-oxide/hydroxide species during the process. Using an energy-efficient synthesis method, the fabricated unique crystalline nanodesign of dual-phase Ni-sulfide could open new pathways for the controlled synthesis of a high-efficiency group of electrocatalysts for a long-time stable electrochemical catalytic activity.