title: A highly active and stable hydrogen evolution catalyst based on pyrite-structured cobalt phosphosulfide.
abstract: Rational design and controlled synthesis of hybrid structures comprising multiple components with distinctive functionalities are an intriguing and challenging approach to materials development for important energy applications like electrocatalytic hydrogen production, where there is a great need for cost effective, active and durable catalyst materials to replace the precious platinum. Here we report a structure design and sequential synthesis of a highly active and stable hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst material based on pyrite-structured cobalt phosphosulfide nanoparticles grown on carbon nanotubes. The three synthetic steps in turn render electrical conductivity, catalytic activity and stability to the material. The hybrid material exhibits superior activity for hydrogen evolution, achieving current densities of 10 mA cm(-2) and 100 mA cm(-2) at overpotentials of 48 mV and 109 mV, respectively. Phosphorus substitution is crucial for the chemical stability and catalytic durability of the material, the molecular origins of which are uncovered by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and computational simulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Enyuan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Yingjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Xiqian
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8513-518X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Eric I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Altman
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, 520 West Campus Drive, West Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
authors.forename: Hailiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang