Fabrication of C/CO-FeS2/CoS2 with highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The mainstream strategy for designing hydrogen electrocatalysts is to adjust their surface electronic structure; however, the conductivity of the electrocatalyst and the synergy with its substrate are still challenges to overcome. In this work, we report a carbon-doped Co-FeS2 /CoS2 (C/Co-FeS2 /CoS2) electrode, prepared via a hydrothermal process with carbon cloth (CC) as the substrate and carbon doping. The C/Co-FeS2 /CoS2 electrode shows excellent catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with an overpotential of 88 mV at a current density of −10 mA·cm−2 in 0.5 M H2 SO4 solution. The Tafel slope is 66 mV·dec−1. Such superior performance is attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the electrocatalyst and its synergy with the substrate. Our study provides an efficient alternative in the field of electrocatalysis.