Synergetic effect of both cation and anion doping cobalt oxides on V2C MXene boosting oxygen evolution reaction

In order to enhance the conductivity and catalytic efficiency of non-noble electrocatalyst, an electrocatalysts consisting of ZnCo metallic double oxide with S doping embedded on V 2 C MXene for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is synthesized. Cobalt serves as the primary active site, while zinc contributes to improve conductivity owing to its high electronegativity. Sulfur doping plays a crucial role in reducing the energy barrier of rate determining step of OER. The V 2 C MXene as a substrate can promote conductivity as well, resulting in synergistic effect. The electrocatalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 240 mV at 10 mA cm −2 in alkaline electrolyte, surpassing that of IrO 2 commercial electrocatalyst. The potential shows only a minimal ∼5 mV day after 72-h stability test at 20 mA cm −2 . The current density at 1.6 V vs RHE is 2 times that of commercial IrO 2 . Both theoretical calculation and experimental result demonstrate the advantage brought by the incorporation of zinc and sulfur. This work introduces a new idea of synergetic effect in non-noble metallic electrocatalysis.