Facile Synthesis of Carbon‐Sulfur Scaffold with Transition‐Metal Sulfides and Oxides as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Transition‐metal sulfides and oxides supported on carbon materials (MSOCs) are vastly explored as efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting, especially for the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, we show the facile, scalable bottom‐up synthesis of MSOCs using available low‐cost metal salts, pyrene, and elemental sulfur as reactants. Upon condensation at high temperature, the monomers form a stable molten‐state intermediate, directing the synthesis of MSOCs due to strong coordination between the metallic cation‐sulfur‐pyrene. These materials exhibit excellent activity towards OER achieving low overpotentials of 284 and 325 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm−2. The effect of the carbon support is demonstrated through high mass activity of the materials (∼300 A g−1) compared to the materials with no support.

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis

“…Furthermore, the bubbles produced during the OER process might cause the carbon morphology to collapse. Therefore, the application of carbon-based materials as catalysts for OER remains in its infancy, and the role of carbon-based materials is reduced to acting as hosts for their metallic counterparts . Consequently, we believe that a fair comparison of their performance with the state-of-the-art catalysts is inaccurate and challenging to achieve.…”

“…Therefore, the application of carbon-based materials as catalysts for OER remains in its infancy, and the role of carbon-based materials is reduced to acting as hosts for their metallic counterparts. 128 Consequently, we believe that a fair comparison of their performance with the state-of-the-art catalysts is inaccurate and challenging to achieve. For a more focused comparison of OER performances among different catalysts, we would like to refer the reader to previously published reviews.…”

Design of a High-Efficiency Bifunctional Electrocatalyst: Rich-Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide-Modified Carbon Cloth-Growing Nickel–Iron Complex Oxides for Overall Water Splitting

“…3,19 Besides that, the transition metal-based compound materials have more stable properties in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes, and they are not easy to decompose. 20 Therefore, electrocatalysts based on transition metals as active centers have attracted many researchers in the recent years, such as transition metal-based sulfides, 21 phosphates, 15 selenides, 22 oxides, 23 and hydroxides. 24 In the current times, transition metal oxides are widely applied for OER and HER in alkaline medium, but are easily disintegrated in acid medium.…”

A Study of Intermediate for Synthesis of Cs0.3WO3 with Near-Infrared Photothermal Response

“…In some cases, the intermediate product does not influence the final material. However, in other cases, the composition, morphology, and particle size of the final material can be controlled via the intermediate such as controlling the nucleation, growth, and transport of the intermediate; employing a specific method, for example, nanocasting, to tune the particle size of intermediate; changing the phase composition of intermediate [19][20][21][22]. In another case, the appearance of the intermediate is not conducive for the final material.…”