Cobalt-iron oxide/black phosphorus nanosheet heterostructure: Electrosynthesis and performance of (photo-)electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Abstract

Highly active, stable, and cut-price (photo-)electrocatalysts are desired to overwhelm high energy barriers for anodic oxygen evolution reaction processes. Herein, a heterostructure of cobalt-iron oxide/black phosphorus nanosheets is in-situ synthesized via a facile and novel three-electrode electrolysis method. Bulky black phosphorus is exfoliated into its nanosheets at the cathode while the CoFe oxide is derived directly from the metal wire anode during the electrolysis process. This heterostructure exhibits excellent electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, and the overpotential at 10 mA·cm−2 is 51 mV lower than that of the commercial RuO2 catalyst. Its superior OER performance stems from the favorable adsorption behavior and an enlarged electrochemical active surface area of the catalyst. To reveal the origin of excellent OER performance from the point of adsorption strength of OH*, methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) test is applied under the identified OER operating conditions. Further introduction of light illumination enhances the OER activity of this heterostructure. The overpotential drops down to 280 mV, benefiting from pronounced photochemical response of black phosphorus nanosheets and iron oxide inside the heterostructure. This work develops a new electrochemical method to construct high performance and light-sensitive heterostructures from black phosphorus nanosheets for the OER.

Interfacial Electronic Modulation on Nickel Cobaltite/Black Phosphorus Heterostructures for Boosting the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

“…Importantly, from the HRTEM image, the lattice stripes of NCO and BP are very obvious, implying the structural and morphological stability of the NCO/BP during the electrocatalytic OER process. , The interface interaction between NCO and BP promotes the transfer of electrons from BP to NCO and balances the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates. Besides, the MA of NCO/BP is much higher than that of previously reported BP-based OER electrocatalysts including the BPIr_be, EBP/CoFeB, CoP/BP, RP-BP/CNTs, CoFeO@BP, Co x P, Ni 3 N|Ni 2 P|BP, BP-QD/CoO x , Co 3 O 4 @BP, BP QDs/MXene, Co/BP NSs, CoO-BP-RGO, BP/Ni­(OH) 2 , and BP@MOF, Co–Fe/BP, etc (Figure h).…”

“…Notably, among BP-based metal-free catalysts, the BP-CN-c exhibited the best OER catalytic performance. Meanwhile, a series of heterostructure BP-based catalysts have been reported, such as Co–Fe/BP, BP@MOF, BP/Ni­(OH) 2 , EBP/CoFeB, and CoFeO@BP . These reports indicate that enhancing the stability and OER activity of BP by constructing heterostructures is an effective strategy.…”

Fe-induced crystalline–amorphous interface engineering of a NiMo-based heterostructure for enhanced water oxidation

“…[4][5][6] Currently, commercial RuO 2 and IrO 2 are considered as the state-of-the-art catalysts for OER; however, scarce reserves and exorbitant prices hinder their widespread application in electrochemical water splitting. [7][8][9] Considering the limitations of noble-metal-based catalysts, it is urgent to develop noble-metal-free OER electrocatalysts with high performance and long-term stability.…”

Laser-Synthesized Ru-Anchored Few-Layer Black Phosphorus for Superior Hydrogen Evolution: Role of Acoustic Levitation

“…To address this issue, few-layered BP has been introduced, offering increased active sites and surface area compared to bulk crystalline BP. ,, Nonetheless, monolayer BP-often referred to as phosphorene-exhibits poor HER activity. The poor HER kinetics is attributed to the densely packed p-lone pair electrons of phosphorus atoms, resulting in a substantial hydrogen adsorption energy. − For the development of an efficient BP catalyst, pristine few-layered BP must be utilized but it suffers from degradation due to the weak van der Waals interactions among the layers. To overcome these challenges, various methods have been explored, including the functionalization of BP and combination with cocatalysts such as different organic moieties, metal oxides, and metal clusters.…”