Trimetallic Pentlandites (Fe,Co,Ni)9S8 for the Electrocatalytical HER in Acidic Media

ACS Mater Au. 2022 Apr 27;2(4):474-481. doi: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.2c00016. eCollection 2022 Jul 13.

Abstract

Recently, pentlandite materials have been shown to exhibit promising properties with respect to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A whole series of trimetallic FeCoNi-pentlandite materials and composites have been synthesized from the elements using high-temperature synthesis and categorized in terms of purity. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic properties regarding the HER were determined and correlated to hydrogen adsorption energies, which were determined by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The relationships between activity and its origin generated in this way help to better understand the pentlandite system and provide meaningful approaches for catalyst synthesis.