Fe Cluster Modified Co9S8 Heterojunction: Highly Efficient Photoelectrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting and Flexible Zinc‐Air Batteries

Designing bifunctional low‐cost photo‐assisted electrocatalysts for converting solar and electric energy into hydrogen energy remains a huge challenge. Herein, a heterojunction (Fe cluster modified Co9S8 loaded on carbon nanotubes, Co9S8‐Fe@CNT) for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen...

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Published in:Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2024-01, Vol.36 (2), p.n/a
Main Authors: Wang, Nan, Chen, Di, Ning, Shunlian, Lao, Jiayu, Xu, Jinchang, Luo, Mi, Zhang, Weiping, Chen, Jian, Yang, Muzi, Xie, Fangyan, Jin, Yanshuo, Sun, Shuhui, Meng, Hui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Chemical energy
Clusters
Co9S8‐Fe cluster
Cobalt sulfide
Conduction bands
Electrocatalysts
Electronic structure
Gibbs free energy
Heterojunctions
Hydrogen evolution reactions
Light irradiation
Metal air batteries
Oxygen evolution reactions
photoelectrochemical
Valence band
Water splitting
Zinc-oxygen batteries
zinc‐air battery
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Summary:Designing bifunctional low‐cost photo‐assisted electrocatalysts for converting solar and electric energy into hydrogen energy remains a huge challenge. Herein, a heterojunction (Fe cluster modified Co9S8 loaded on carbon nanotubes, Co9S8‐Fe@CNT) for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is demonstrated. Benefiting from the good electronic conductivity and spatial confinement of the carbon skeleton, as well as the electronic structure regulation of the Fe cluster, Co9S8‐Fe@CNT exhibits excellent catalytic performance with a low overpotential of 150 mV for OER and 135 mV for HER at 10 mA cm−2. Upon light irradiation, holes and electrons are generated in the valence band and conduction band of the Co9S8, respectively. Part of the charges are transferred to the interface to facilitate the catalytic reaction, while the remaining are transferred by the electrode. When working as a bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting, the performance can reach 1.33 V at under light conditions, which is significantly better than 1.52 V in a dark environment. Theoretical calculations revealed lowered Gibbs free energy (∆GH*) of the heterojunction with the effect of Fe modification of Co9S8. This work sheds a new light in designing novel photoelectrochemical materials to convert solar and electric energy into chemical energy. In this work, outstanding photo‐assisted electrocatalysts are successfully synthesized by thermal annealing of polydopamine coated CdS and ZIF‐67. Additionally, based on the spatial confinement of the N‐doped carbon skeleton and the electronic structure regulation of the Fe cluster, the Co9S8‐Fe heterojunction substantially facilitates the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and further enhances the photo‐assisted electrocatalytic overall water splitting.
ISSN:0935-9648
1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.202306138