Rational Construction of a N, F Co-doped Mesoporous Cobalt Phosphate with Rich-Oxygen Vacancies for Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Supercapacitors

Chemistry. 2021 May 17;27(28):7731-7737. doi: 10.1002/chem.202100383. Epub 2021 May 11.

Abstract

Transition-metal phosphates have been widely applied as promising candidates for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. In this study, we report a simple method to prepare a N, F co-doped mesoporous cobalt phosphate with rich-oxygen vacancies by in-situ pyrolysis of a Co-phosphate precursor with NH4 + cations and F- anions. Due to this heteroatom doping, it could achieve a current density of 10 mA/cm2 at lower overpotential of 276 mV and smaller Tafel slope of 57.11 mV dec-1 on glassy carbon. Moreover, it could keep 92 % of initial current density for 35 h, indicating it has an excellent stability and durability. Furthermore, the optimal material applied in supercapacitor displays specific capacitance of 206.3 F g-1 at 1 A ⋅ g-1 and maintains cycling stability with 80 % after 3000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties should be attributed to N, F co-doping into this Co-based phosphate, which effectively modulates its electronic structure. In addition, its amorphous structure provides more active sites; moreover, its mesoporous structure should be beneficial to mass transfer and electrolyte diffusion.

Keywords: amorphous mesoporous Co-based phosphate; heteroatom doping; in-situ construction; oxygen evolution; oxygen vacancies; supercapacitors.