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Ni0.37Co0.63S2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution and photocatalytic pollutant degradation

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Abstract

A series of Ni0.37Co0.63S2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with different graphene contents (NCS@rGO-x) has been successfully prepared via a facile one-step hydrothermal method and applied as the catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and degradation of organic pollutants. The XRD and FESEM analyses revealed that the phase structure and morphology of NCS nanoparticles were substantially influenced by the graphene contents. The phase structure of NCS nanoparticles gradually transformed from primary NiCo2S4 to Ni0.37Co0.63S2 and the morphology and size of NCS nanoparticles were found to become more regular and homogeneous with the increase of graphene concentration. On the NCS@rGO-x nanocomposites, the NCS@rGO-2 sample demonstrated the best catalytic activity toward the OER, which delivers a stable current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a small overpotential of ∼276 mV (vs. RHE) with a Tafel slope as low as 48 mV dec−1. Furthermore, the NCS@rGO-2 sample showed the remarkable photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue (MB), which may be attributed to the increased reaction sites and high separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carries due to the electronic interaction between NCS nanoparticles and rGO. All these impressive performances indicate that the NCS@rGO-2 nanocomposite is a promising catalyst in energy and environmental fields.

A series of Ni0.37Co0.63S2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with different graphene contents has been successfully prepared and applied as the catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and degradation of organic pollutants. The NCS@rGO-2 catalyst-modified stainless steel wire mesh (SSWM) electrode delivers a stable current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a small overpotential of ∼276 mV (vs. RHE) with a Tafel slope as low as 48 mV dec−1. At the same time, the NCS@rGO-2 catalyst is also first investigated as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of MB.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC no. 21503102), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (lzujbky-2015-274), and the Science and Technology Program of Gansu Province of China (145RJZA176).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yubo Shao, Jing Du, Yongqing Zhao & Cailing Xu

  2. Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, School of Physical Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Hua Li

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  1. Yubo Shao
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  2. Jing Du
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  3. Hua Li
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Correspondence to Cailing Xu.

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Shao, Y., Du, J., Li, H. et al. Ni0.37Co0.63S2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution and photocatalytic pollutant degradation. J Solid State Electrochem 21, 183–192 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3352-y

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