NiCo2S4 nanowires array as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for full water splitting with superior activity

Danni Liu; Qun Lu; Yonglan Luo; Xuping Sun; Abdullah M. Asiri

doi:10.1039/C5NR04064G

NiCo₂S₄ nanowires array as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for full water splitting with superior activity†

Danni Liu,^a Qun Lu,*^a Yonglan Luo,*^b Xuping Sun*^b and Abdullah M. Asiri^c

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, Sichuan, China
E-mail: luqun1125@home.swjtu.edu.cn

^b Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637002, Sichuan, China
E-mail: luoylcwnu@hotmail.com, sunxp@cwnu.edu.cn

^c Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The present communication reports the topotactic conversion of NiCo₂O₄ nanowires array on carbon cloth (NiCo₂O₄ NA/CC) into NiCo₂S₄ NA/CC, which is used as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting with good durability and superior activity in 1.0 M KOH. This NiCo₂S₄ NA/CC electrode produces 100 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of 305 mV for hydrogen evolution and 100 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of 340 mV for oxygen evolution. To afford a 10 mA cm⁻² water-splitting current, the alkaline water electrolyzer made from NiCo₂S₄ NA/CC needs a cell voltage of 1.68 V, which is 300 mV less than that for NiCo₂O₄ NA/CC, and has good stability.

This article is part of the themed collection: Editor’s Choice: Nanomaterials for catalysis

Supplementary files

Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NR04064G
Article type: Communication
Submitted: 19 Jun 2015
Accepted: 24 Aug 2015
First published: 10 Sep 2015

Download Citation

Nanoscale, 2015,7, 15122-15126

Permissions

Request permissions

NiCo₂S₄ nanowires array as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for full water splitting with superior activity

D. Liu, Q. Lu, Y. Luo, X. Sun and A. M. Asiri, Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 15122 DOI: 10.1039/C5NR04064G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Nanoscale