Reversed Active Sites Boost the Intrinsic Activity of Graphene-like Cobalt Selenide for Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

Optimizing the hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy (ΔG_H ) of active sites is essential to improve the overpotential of the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We doped graphene-like Co_0.85 Se with sulfur and found that the active sites are reversed (from cationic Co sites to anionic S sites), which contributed to an enhancement in electrocatalytic HER performance. The optimal S-doped Co_0.85 Se composite has an overpotential of 108 mV (at 10 mA cm^-2 ) and a Tafel slope of 59 mV dec^-1 , which exceeds other reported Co_0.85 Se-based electrocatalysts. The doped S sites have much higher activity than the Co sites, with a hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy (ΔG_H ) close to zero (0.067 eV), which reduces the reaction barrier for hydrogen production. This work provides inspiration for optimizing the intrinsic HER activity of other related transition metal chalcogenides.

Keywords: active sites; cobalt; graphene-like; selenium; sulfur.