Nano‐Au‐decorated hierarchical porous cobalt sulfide derived from ZIF‐67 toward optimized oxygen evolution catalysis: Important roles of microstructures and electronic modulation
Hongyu Gong,
Guanliang Sun,
Wenhua Shi,
Dongwei Li,
Xiangjun Zheng,
Huan Shi,
Xiu Liang,
Ruizhi Yang,
Changzhou Yuan
Affiliations
Hongyu Gong
Department of New Energy Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering Jiangsu University of Science and Technology Zhenjiang Jiangsu China
Guanliang Sun
Advanced Materials Institute Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences) Jinan Shandong China
Wenhua Shi
Department of New Energy Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering Jiangsu University of Science and Technology Zhenjiang Jiangsu China
Dongwei Li
Advanced Materials Institute Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences) Jinan Shandong China
Xiangjun Zheng
Department of New Energy Materials, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering Jiangsu University of Science and Technology Zhenjiang Jiangsu China
Huan Shi
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science & Engineering University of Jinan Jinan Shandong China
Xiu Liang
Advanced Materials Institute Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences) Jinan Shandong China
Ruizhi Yang
Department of New Energy Science and Engineering, College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations Soochow University Suzhou Jiangsu China
Changzhou Yuan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science & Engineering University of Jinan Jinan Shandong China
Abstract Enhancing both the number of active sites available and the intrinsic activity of Co‐based electrocatalysts simultaneously is a desirable goal. Herein, a ZIF‐67‐derived hierarchical porous cobalt sulfide decorated by Au nanoparticles (NPs) (denoted as HP‐Au@CoxSy@ZIF‐67) hybrid is synthesized by low‐temperature sulfuration treatment. The well‐defined macroporous–mesoporous–microporous structure is obtained based on the combination of polystyrene spheres, as‐formed CoxSy nanosheets, and ZIF‐67 frameworks. This novel three‐dimensional hierarchical structure significantly enlarges the three‐phase interfaces, accelerating the mass transfer and exposing the active centers for oxygen evolution reaction. The electronic structure of Co is modulated by Au through charge transfer, and a series of experiments, together with theoretical analysis, is performed to ascertain the electronic modulation of Co by Au. Meanwhile, HP‐Au@CoxSy@ZIF‐67 catalysts with different amounts of Au were synthesized, wherein Au and NaBH4 reductant result in an interesting “competition effect” to regulate the relative ratio of Co2+/Co3+, and moderate Au assists the electrochemical performance to reach the highest value. Consequently, the optimized HP‐Au@CoxSy@ZIF‐67 exhibits a low overpotential of 340 mV at 10 mA cm–2 and a Tafel slope of 42 mV dec–1 for OER in 0.1 M aqueous KOH, enabling efficient water splitting and Zn–air battery performance. The work here highlights the pivotal roles of both microstructural and electronic modulation in enhancing electrocatalytic activity and presents a feasible strategy for designing and optimizing advanced electrocatalysts.
