In situ growth of flower-like Cu3BiS3 on copper foam for electrocatalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction

The development of the low-cost, highly efficient, and environment-friendly electrocatalyst in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is important to solve the increasingly severe energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this work, the Cu3BiS3/copper foam (CF) was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method, where the unique flower-like structures formed with the Cu3BiS3 nanosheets were in situ grown on the 3D CF. The electrode of Cu3BiS3/CF exhibits an excellent HER performance with an onset potential of 273 mV and a Tafel slope of 143 mV dec(-1). The control experiments show that the HER performance of Cu3BiS3 is better than that of its binary counterparts of Bi2S3 and Cu7S4. The improved electrocatalytic property of Cu3BiS3/CF may be attributed to its flower-like structures that increase the surface area and expose more active sites, and to the synergistic effect of the metal/metal sulfide. This work opens the way to facilely grow the ternary metal sulfides with the hierarchical nanostructure that has the potential in the field of HER electrocatalyst.

Automated summary

The Cu3BiS3/copper foam electrode synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method shows excellent performance in hydrogen evolution reaction due to its unique flower-like structures and synergistic effect of metal/metal sulfide. This work opens up potential for facile growth of ternary metal sulfides with hierarchical nanostructures in the field of HER electrocatalyst.