Nanosphere-like ZnIn₂S₄ intercalated g-C₃N₄ for improved green oxygen production

Water splitting could provide the fuel of the future due to its natural availability, outstanding energy efficiency, and cleanliness. Recently, the focus has been diverted towards the fabrication of non-precious electrocatalysts for water splitting. Here, we effectively synthesized a porous anode material integrating ZnIn₂S₄ nanospheres into a graphitic nitride (GCN) layer by a hydrothermal method followed by a stainless steel strip (SSS). The fabricated materials were explored oxygen evolution reaction (OER) application. The combination of ZnIn₂S₄/GCN tuned the lattice and provided more active sites than pristine materials. The Tafel slope of 45 mV dec⁻¹ and overpotential of 194 mV (at 10 mA cm⁻²) was much smaller than bare ZnIn₂S₄ and GCN. The optimal catalyst performs well for 100 h and also for 1000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles at a given current density in a 1.0 M KOH solution. This work provides a new strategy for the fabrication of low-cost ZnIn₂S₄/GCN for OER. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)