A Nitrogen Doping Method for CoS2 Electrocatalysts with Enhanced Water Oxidation Performance

A thorough understanding of the effect of N doping on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is greatly significant for constructing next-generation electrocatalysts with an optimal configuration and high efficiency for the fuel cell. Herein, we reported the synthesis of N-doped CoS2 through a facile method using ammonium hydroxide as the N source, the subjection of N-doped CoS2 as efficient electrocatalysts for OER, and the identification of intrinsic activities by exploring the composition and electronic configurations and their correlations with the electrochemical performance. The DFT studies evidenced that N doping could alter the electronic density of the adjacent Co atoms and thus form well-defined electronic configurations for adsorption of intermediates. Specifically, the N-enriched CoS2 afford a small overpotential of 240 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm–2 and long-term durability, endowing these N-doped materials to be ideal (but not limited to) OER electrocatalysts.