With the synergies of multiple elements, bimetallic sulfides
exhibit
excellent performance as splendid electrode materials and effective
catalysts. However, large-scale synthesis of high-performance single-phase
multicomponent sulfides has always been a challenge. Based on thermodynamic
calculations, the intermediate phases NiS2 and Co3S4 are devoted to the synthesis of single-phase Ni0.5Co0.5S2. Because the reaction from
NiS2 and Co3S4 to Ni0.5Co0.5S2 goes through a lower energy, it thermodynamically
contributes to achieving a single-phase structure. Thus, single-phase
Ni0.5Co0.5S2 can be simply and quickly
prepared by two-step sintering and successfully scalable for mass
production. This technique can extend to the whole ingredients Ni1–x
Co
x
S2. Ni0.5Co0.5S2 demonstrates
excellent thermal stability and good conductivity. It delivers a specific
capacity of 671 mAh·g–1 and a specific energy
of 1173 Wh·kg–1 when applied to a thermal battery
cathode, which are increased by 18.6% and 25.0%, respectively, compared
to pristine NiS2 (566 mAh·g–1) and
CoS2 (537 mAh·g–1). This work proposes
an innovative sintering method, which is applicable for cost-efficient
and large-scale synthesis of single-phase multicomponent sulfides.