title: Pentlandite rocks as sustainable and stable efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen generation.
abstract: The need for sustainable catalysts for an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction is of significant interest for modern society. Inspired by comparable structural properties of [FeNi]-hydrogenase, here we present the natural ore pentlandite (Fe4.5Ni4.5S8) as a direct 'rock' electrode material for hydrogen evolution under acidic conditions with an overpotential of 280 mV at 10 mA cm(-2). Furthermore, it reaches a value as low as 190 mV after 96 h of electrolysis due to surface sulfur depletion, which may change the electronic structure of the catalytically active nickel-iron centres. The 'rock' material shows an unexpected catalytic activity with comparable overpotential and Tafel slope to some well-developed metallic or nanostructured catalysts. Notably, the 'rock' material offers high current densities (≤650 mA cm(-2)) without any loss in activity for approximately 170 h. The superior hydrogen evolution performance of pentlandites as 'rock' electrode labels this ore as a promising electrocatalyst for future hydrogen-based economy.
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Analytical Chemistry-Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Bharathi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Konkena
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Inorganic Chemistry I, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Junge Puring
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Industrial Chemistry, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sinev
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Inorganic Chemistry I, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piontek
authors.affiliation: Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Bottova 25, 91724 Trnava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Oleksiy
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khavryuchenko
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Inorganic Chemistry II, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dürholt
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Inorganic Chemistry II, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Rochus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
authors.forename: Harun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tüysüz
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Industrial Chemistry, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muhler
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Analytical Chemistry-Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2916-5223
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schuhmann
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Inorganic Chemistry I, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulf-Peter
authors.initials: UP
authors.lastname: Apfel