Study on preparation and characterization of Co-Ni sulfide electrocatalysts supported by waste silk fabric

• The sulfides of Ni and Co were successfully grown on activated and carbonized waste silk fabric by hydrothermal method . • The effects of the ratio of Co and Ni on the morphology, structure and catalytic properties of the catalyst were studied. • When Co:Ni comes to 2:1, the transition metal grows in the structure of NiCo 2 S 4 spinel. • The η 10 of the best hydrogen evolution catalyst is only 113 mV, and the stability is better than Pt/C. The use of petrochemical energy is associated with a series of pollution problems, so the importance of clean energy has increased. Green hydrogen, as a clean fuel with high calorific value and no pollution, can be obtained by electrolysis of water. In addition to expensive precious metal catalysts, the catalytic properties of transition metals such as Co and Ni have also received attention. In this paper, waste silk fabric was used as carbon precursor, and the matrix with high specific surface area was prepared by activation and carbonization. The sulfides of Co and Ni were successfully loaded onto carbon precursors by hydrothermal method to form electrocatalyst materials with high catalytic activity and stability. When the molar ratio of Co to Ni reaches 2:1, the surface appears needle-like flowers, which is conducive to the mass transfer and diffusion process in the reaction. At the same time, according to a number of test results, Co and Ni exist in the form of spinel sulfide, exposing more active sites at the microscopic level and playing a synergistic catalytic role.