Highly dispersive NiCo2S4 nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Jinchao Xu; Jian Rong; Fengxian Qiu; Yao Zhu; Kaili Mao; Yuanyuan Fang; Dongya Yang; Tao Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.07.104

Highly dispersive NiCo₂S₄ nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 Nov 1:555:294-303. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.07.104. Epub 2019 Jul 31.

Authors

Jinchao Xu¹, Jian Rong¹, Fengxian Qiu², Yao Zhu¹, Kaili Mao¹, Yuanyuan Fang¹, Dongya Yang¹, Tao Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: fxqiu@ujs.edu.cn.
³ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: zhangtaochem@163.com.

PMID: 31394316
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.07.104

Abstract

To solve the energy crisis problem, many efforts have been devoted to develop clean and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Among varieties of pathways to obtain clean energy, electrochemical water splitting is a promising approach. Herein, we had successfully synthesized the NiCo₂S₄@porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NiCo₂S₄@NCNF) nanocomposite via three successive steps consisted of in-situ oxidative polymerization, calcination, and solvothermal sulfuration reaction processes. The effect of controlled molar ratios to electrocatalytic performance was studied in detail. The optimized NiCo₂S₄@NCNF nanocomposite exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction with a small overpotential of 117 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. More importantly, it exhibits similar electrocatalytic activity to the initial state even after successive cyclic voltammetry scan for 3000 cycles, indicating its excellent long-term stability. The superior electrochemical performance is attributed to the developed three-dimensional (3D) network nanostructure derived from bacterial cellulose nanofibers, the highly conductive porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers, and the synergistic effect between metal Ni and Co of NiCo₂S₄. This study permits a new pathway to design efficient electrocatalysts based on eco-friendly materials for the production of clean hydrogen energy.

Keywords: Bacterial cellulose; Carbon nanofibers; Electrocatalyst; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Nitrogen-doped.