Crystal Co_xB (x = 1–3) Synthesized by a Ball-Milling Method as High-Performance Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Development of noble-metal-free and active electrocatalysts is crucial for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the water-splitting process. Herein, crystal Co x B catalysts (x = 1–3) of the OER are fabricated by a ball-milling method. Among these Co x B catalysts, Co2B exhibits the best OER activity, with a current density of 10 mA cm–2 at an overpotential of 287 mV in 1 M KOH solution. Such OER activity of Co2B is favorably comparable to that of the commercial IrO2 and most recently reported OER catalysts. Furthermore, the Co2B catalyst exhibits excellent stability with a stable current density of 50 mA cm–2 over 12 h of continuous electrolysis operation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry demonstrate that the B in Co x B makes oxidation easier, leading to their enhanced OER activities in comparison to metal Co. In addition, the Co2B electrocatalyst also exhibits high activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction; thus, the catalyst can be used as a bifunctional catalyst for full water splitting.

Bimetallic oxide coupled with B-doped graphene as highly efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

“…Hitherto, transition metal catalysts, especially cobaltand nickel-based electrocatalysts, have drawn tremendous attention because of their attractive features, such as availability, low cost and superior activity [13]. Over the past years, transition metal oxides/hydroxides [14][15][16], sulphides [17,18], phosphides [19,20], and borides [21,22] have been extensively investigated as OER electrocatalysts. Although the sulphides, phosphides and borides have shown better catalytic activity than the oxides in some cases, they suffer from lower controllability, more harsh condition, and probable contamination during the syntheses.…”

CoP Embedded in Hierarchical N‐Doped Carbon Nanotube Frameworks as Efficient Catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…Therefore developing highly active alternative nonprecious electrocatalyst is essential to satisfy the hydrogen generation industry. Consequently, enormous efforts have been devoted for the development of nanostructured non‐precious electrocatalysts with various compositions, such as transition metal chalcogenide, carbide, nitride, phosphide and boride …”

“…Consequently, enormous efforts have been devoted for the development of nanostructured non-precious electrocatalysts with various compositions, such as transition metal chalcogenide, carbide, nitride, phosphide and boride. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Transition metal phosphides (TMPs), especially cobalt phosphide (CoP) is an attractive, alternative electrocatalyst, which intensively investigated for HER than other TMPs. Also, the different stoichiometric ratio of Co/P are likely to cause different electronic structures which determine their intrinsic catalytic activity to particular extent.…”

Stable and Efficient Nitrogen‐Containing Carbon‐Based Electrocatalysts for Reactions in Energy‐Conversion Systems

“…[2] Furthermore, considering some extreme reaction environments (e.g.,s trong acidic and alkaline environments) for the aforementioned reactions, electrocatalytic stability ought to be adequately considered upon engineering electrocatalysts. [5] To replace high-costing and unstable commercial electrocatalysts, it is significant to develop electrocatalysts that are cheap and have high stability,h igh selectivity,a nd acceptable activity. [4] Moreover,t he introduction of metal components to extreme chemical environments leads to poor stability,w hich extremely limits practical applications.…”

“…[4] Moreover,t he introduction of metal components to extreme chemical environments leads to poor stability,w hich extremely limits practical applications. [5] To replace high-costing and unstable commercial electrocatalysts, it is significant to develop electrocatalysts that are cheap and have high stability,h igh selectivity,a nd acceptable activity.…”