Highly Durable Nanoporous CuS Films for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis under Mild pH Conditions
Copper-based hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts are promising materials to scale-up hydrogen production due to their reported high current densities; however, electrode durability remains a challenge. Here, we report a facile, cost-effective, and scalable synthetic route to produce CuS electrocatal...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:287097 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/287097 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1021/acscatal.3c01673 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Green hydrogen Hydrogen evolution reaction Electrocatalysis Cu-based electrodes Operando ECSA increase Mechanistic analysis |
| Sumario: | Copper-based hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts are promising materials to scale-up hydrogen production due to their reported high current densities; however, electrode durability remains a challenge. Here, we report a facile, cost-effective, and scalable synthetic route to produce CuS electrocatalysts, exhibiting hydrogen evolution rates that increase for ∼1 month of operation. Our CuS electrodes reach a state-of-the-art performance of ∼400 mA cm -2 at -1 V vs RHE under mild conditions (pH 8.6), with almost 100% Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution. The rise in current density was found to scale with the electrode electrochemically active surface area. The increased performance of our CuS electrodes correlates with a decrease in the Tafel slope, while analyses by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, operando X-ray diffraction, and in situ spectroelectrochemistry cooperatively revealed the Cu-centered nature of the catalytically active species. These results allowed us to increase fundamental understanding of heterogeneous electrocatalyst transformation and consequent structure-activity relationship. This facile synthesis of highly durable and efficient CuS electrocatalysts enables the development of competitive electrodes for hydrogen evolution under mild pH conditions. |
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