Boosting the electrochemical oxygen evolution performance of CuS by using P element as an anionic dopant.

It is of great significance for ushering in the hydrogen energy age to synthesize super active non-noble-metal electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst. Herein, we reported a P-doped low-cost and facile synthesized P-CuS as an electrocatalyst synthesized by a solvothermal strategy. Obtained more active sites offered the catalytic space that significantly lowered barriers to response, which results in the electrocatalyst exhibiting excellent catalytic activity. The overpotential of P-CuS-1 for optimal electrochemical performance was 280 mV @ 10 mA cm−2 and the Tafel slope was 138.24 mv dec−1. Additionally, the double-layer capacitance of the sample was calculated to be 17.77 mF cm−2, which increased by 15.21 mF cm−2 over the pre-doped CuS, along with good cycling stability upon 22 h. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that P-doping enhances OER activity by optimising the adsorption free energy of oxygenated intermediates. It indicated that P-doped CuS electrocatalyst can improve the OER electrochemical performance significantly compared to CuS. This study provides an effective way to tune the electronic structure of CuS using P-doping. • Pure CuS and P-CuS OER catalysts were synthesised by one-pot method under laboratory conditions. • By electrochemical testing, the overpotential of P-CuS-1 is as low as 280mV@10mA cm-2. • It demonstrates that P-doping can enhance the catalytic activity of OER-inert copper sulfide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]