Local Surface Structure and Composition Control the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Iron Nickel Sulfides

Cameron L Bentley; Corina Andronescu; Mathias Smialkowski; Minkyung Kang; Tsvetan Tarnev; Bernd Marler; Patrick R Unwin; Ulf-Peter Apfel; Wolfgang Schuhmann

doi:10.1002/anie.201712679

Local Surface Structure and Composition Control the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Iron Nickel Sulfides

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Apr 3;57(15):4093-4097. doi: 10.1002/anie.201712679. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
² Analytical Chemistry-Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
³ University Politehnica of Bucharest, Department of Bioresources and Polymer Science, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, Bucharest, Romania.
⁴ Inorganic Chemistry I, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
⁵ Department of Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
⁶ Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Osterfelder Strasse 3, 46047, Oberhausen, Germany.

PMID: 29377499
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201712679

Abstract

In order to design more powerful electrocatalysts, developing our understanding of the role of the surface structure and composition of widely abundant bulk materials is crucial. This is particularly true in the search for alternative hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts to replace platinum. We report scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) measurements of the (111)-crystal planes of Fe_4.5 Ni_4.5 S₈ , a highly active HER catalyst. In combination with structural characterization methods, we show that this technique can reveal differences in activity arising from even the slightest compositional changes. By probing electrochemical properties at the nanoscale, in conjunction with complementary structural information, novel design principles are revealed for application to rational material synthesis.

Keywords: SECCM; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; iron nickel sulfides; surfaces.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't