Polyoxometalate-mediated growth of O-SnS@Cu2S heteronanosheets for high-performance oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions

• Published in: Applied nanoscience 2024, Vol.14 (3), p.477-489
• Main Authors: Albaqami, Munirah D., Mnazoor, Sumaira, Sheikh, Mohamed, Anwar, Muhammad Imran, Abid, Abdul Ghafoor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arrays; Bimetals; Chemistry and Materials Science; Copper sulfides; Current density; Electrocatalysts; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Energy conversion; Energy sources; High current; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Kinetics; Materials Science; Membrane Biology; Metal foams; Nanochemistry; Nanosheets; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Original Article; Oxygen evolution reactions; Polyoxometallates; Water splitting
• ISSN: 2190-5509; 2190-5517
• DOI: 10.1007/s13204-023-02994-0

To properly exploit undepleted sources of energy through energy conversion devices using water splitting reactions, there is a need for cost-effective, easily accessible, and long-lasting materials that are capable of performing bifunctional activity like hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, oxygen incorporation into SnS@Cu 2 S (O-SnS@Cu 2 S) heteronanosheets was architecture on Nickel foam utilizing polyoxometalate as bimetal precursors, and then this material exhibited superior activity, requiring only a small overpotential to generate high current densities compared to individual O-SnS and O-Cu 2 S arrays for the electrocatalytic HER activity. The Tafel slopes (26 mV dec −1 ) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) ( R ct  = 1.2 Ω), further confirmed the favorable kinetics and conductivity of the O-SnS@Cu 2 S array. When compared to the O-Cu 2 S and O-SnS nanosheet arrays, the bimetal sulphides O-SnS@Cu 2 S array had much lower overpotentials, requiring only 170 mV and 232 mV, respectively, to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in an alkaline solution for HER and OER. The O-SnS@Cu 2 S nanosheet array outperformed SnS and Cu 2 S, requiring lower overpotentials to achieve high current densities. The smaller value of Tafel slopes (23 mV dec −1 for O-SnS@Cu 2 S) indicated improved kinetics, and EIS demonstrated a lower polarization resistance ( R ct  = 0.2 Ω) for the O-SnS@Cu 2 S array. Importantly, the O-SnS@Cu 2 S array exhibited remarkable stability in alkaline electrolyte cycling experiments, making it an outstanding material for practical applications in energy conversion devices. This research proposes a feasible technique for the development of efficient and stable bifunctional bimetal-sulfide electrocatalysts with enormous potential for use in renewable energy.