Development of a highly stable nickel-foam-based boron monosulfide–graphene electrocatalyst with a high current density for the oxygen evolution reaction.

As an important part of water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) requires efficient, low-cost, and stable catalysts to overcome its sluggish kinetic barrier. In this study, based on previously reported OER catalyst materials of boron monosulfide mixed with graphene (r-BS+G), nickel foam (NF) is introduced as a supporting material for an r-BS+G electrocatalyst. The resulting r-BS+G-NF exhibits a very low overpotential at 10 (245 mV), 100 (308 mV), and 500 (405 mV) mA cm−2, with a low Tafel slope (56 mV dec−1). In addition, r-BS+G-NF exhibits high durability and can maintain high activity for more than 100 h at 100 mA cm−2. This is in sharp contrast to the catalyst without graphene (r-BS+NF), which shows lower durability. The results suggest that the unique morphology of the NF provides a large electrochemically active area and exposes more active sites on the surface of the prepared electrocatalyst, while the flexible graphene sheets play an important role as a support for effectively combining r-BS and NF. Consequently, the self-supporting structure can improve the OER performance as well as stability. Therefore, this study provides a promising strategy for use as an efficient and stable OER catalyst at high current densities. In the realm of electrocatalysis and the quest for sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies, our research introduces a distinctive contribution in the form of a nickel-foam-based boron monosulfide – graphene electrocatalyst (r-BS+G-NF) for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). Thanks to the porous structure of nickel foam and the important role of graphene in combining r-BS and nickel foam, r-BS+G-NF exhibits high catalytic activity and long durability for up to 100 hours. The findings presented in this paper represent a significant advancement in the field of electrocatalysis, with the potential to impact the development of cleaner and more efficient energy conversion and storage technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]