Nitrogen and Sulfur Co‐Doped Mesoporous Carbon Embedded with Co₉S₈ Nanoparticles: Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

Co9S8 embedded, N,S co‐doepd mesoporous carbon materials were synthesized by adopting CoCl2 as the molten salt. In details, CoCl2 and glucose were used as cobalt and carbon precursors, respectively, and thiourea was utilized as sulfur and nitrogen precursors. This synthetic process involved three steps, including hand‐milling, carbonation, and acid leaching. The results of characterization exhibited that the final products had mesoporous structures, which also showed high nitrogen and sulfur contents. Moreover, the Co9S8 nanoparticles dispersed evenly in the carbonaceous matrix. Furthermore, the calcining temperature could affect the porosities of the final products and the contents of the heteroatoms, which could further determine the electrocatalytic activities of these catalysts. When used as the electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction, the optimal catalyst, GTCo900, exhibited superior catalytic activities under acidic condition. The overpotential is 62 mV to afford a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, it could also reveal excellent stability for 12 h.

Controllable and facile preparation of Co9S8–Ni3S2 heterostructures embedded with N,S,O-tri-doped carbon for electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

“…In summary, the above results confirm that similar to the pyrolysis of polyhydroxy compounds, [46][47][48] PEG200 and thiourea can be converted into carbon materials co-doped with nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. The calcination process inevitably leads to the formation of oxygen vacancies or sulfur vacancies, providing anchor sites for nanoparticles.…”

Cobalt Sulfide (Co9S8)-Based Materials with Different Dimensions: Properties, Preparation and Applications in Photo/Electric Catalysis and Energy Storage

“…Using inorganic salt as a template, Yu prepared a series of Co 9 S 8 nanoparticles embedded with N and S co-doped carbon through three steps of grinding, carbonation and acid leaching (Figure 2c). It is suggested that the ratio of precursor, annealing temperature and the type of salt can adjust the porosity, heteroatomic content and crystal structure of the product [26][27][28]. Different synthesis methods have different advantages.…”

Novel WS2/Co9S8 nanoparticles supported on N, S co‐doped mesoporous carbon as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

“…[24,25] In our prior reports, various cobalt sulfide-based electrocatalysts for HER were synthesized via the molten salts process, which possessed outstanding HER performance due to high surface area and pore volume (Table S1). [26][27][28][29] However, with the rapid development of lithium-ion battery industry, the price of cobalt-containing minerals and raw materials remains high. Doping some transition metals with lower price in cobalt sulfide material can greatly reduce the synthesis cost of catalyst.…”

“…The introduction of these inorganic salts can reduce the synthesis cost, which can also be recycled [24,25] . In our prior reports, various cobalt sulfide‐based electrocatalysts for HER were synthesized via the molten salts process, which possessed outstanding HER performance due to high surface area and pore volume (Table S1) [26–29] . However, with the rapid development of lithium‐ion battery industry, the price of cobalt‐containing minerals and raw materials remains high.…”