Co-based coordination polymer-derived Co3S4 nanotube decorated with NiMoO4 nanosheets for effective oxygen evolution reaction

The design and construction of novel electrocatalysts are necessary for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In particular, interface/surface engineering is an effective way to modify active sites and facilitate electron transfer, thereby improving OER performance. Herein, Co-based coordination polymer-derived hollow Co4S3@NiMoO4 nanotube was synthesized via a facile two-step solvothermal/hydrothermal method. [Co(C4H7NO4)]center dot xH(2)O (Co-Asp, Asp = L-aspartic acid) nanowire as morphological template to prepare hollow Co4S3 nanotube through the anion exchange. Then, Co4S3 was transformed into Co4S3 and NiMoO4 nanosheets were deposited on the surface of the Co4S3 nanotube in hydrothermal reaction. The hollow Co4S3 nanotube effectively avoids the aggregation of NiMoO4 nanosheets during the synthesis process. In addition, hollow Co4S3@NiMoO4 nanotube has dramatically increased surface area and more exposed active catalytic sites. Compared to a single Co4S3 and NiMoO4, hollow Co4S3@NiMoO4 nanotube exhibits good electrocatalytic OER performance with Tafel slopes of 102 mV dec(-1) and a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at overpotential of 320 mV in 1.0 M KOH. At higher current density, the OER performance of hollow Co4S3@NiMoO4 nanotube is as good as that of commercial RuO2. More importantly, this work provides a novel template for interface/surface engineering, which can applied in other fields. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.