Lignin-based nitrogen/sulfur dual-doped nanosheets decorated with Co1-xS nanoparticles as efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts

Zihao Ma; Ying Han; Xing Wang; Guangwei Sun; Yao Li

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.070

Lignin-based nitrogen/sulfur dual-doped nanosheets decorated with Co_1-xS nanoparticles as efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Mar 15:634:469-480. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.070. Epub 2022 Dec 17.

Authors

Zihao Ma¹, Ying Han², Xing Wang³, Guangwei Sun¹, Yao Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and BioMaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China.
² Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and BioMaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China. Electronic address: hanying@dlpu.edu.cn.
³ Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and BioMaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China. Electronic address: wangxing@dlpu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36542976
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.070

Abstract

The development of efficient, cost-effective, bifunctional cathode catalyst materials to replace precious metals is highly attractive for the fabrication of Zn-air battery. Here, the three-dimensional N and S co-doped carbon nanosheets loaded with cobalt sulfide nanoparticles (Co_1-xS@SNFC) for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis were synthesized with Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O as the Co source, lignin as the carbon source, thiourea as the nitrogen/ sulfur source, and MgO as the template. The synergistic effect of multiple active sites gives the Co_1-xS@SNFC fast electrochemical kinetic properties and excellent stability to oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER). The half-wave potential and overpotential of Co_1-xS@SNFC were 0.84 mV and 306 mV, respectively, which is closed to commercial noble metal catalysts. In addition, Co_1-xS@SNFC exhibited four-electron transfer characteristics and ultra-low tafel slope. Compared with commercial Pt/C, the Zn-air battery assembled from Co_1-xS@SNFC exhibited a low voltage gap of polarization curve (0.75 V) between charging and discharge and high power density (207 mWcm^-2) in alkaline electrolyte. This work developed a green and novel fabrication approach for the synthesis of bifunctional electrocatalyst and provides a new idea for high-value utilization of biomass.

Keywords: Cobalt sulfide; Lignin; Nanosheets; Oxygen evolution reaction; Oxygen reduction reaction.