Hollow C@SnS₂/SnS nanocomposites: High efficient oxygen evolution reaction catalysts

Using structural phase transitions to enhance electrochemical properties without has received wide attention due to its large active area and excellent electron transport capacity. In this work, hollow C@SnS₂/SnS nanocomposites were successfully synthesized from hollow C@SnS₂ by controlling the temperature and time of the phase transitions. It is found that this hollow C@SnS₂/SnS nanocomposite can serve as electrocatalyst, showing excellent oxygen evolution reaction performance. The Sn (IV) heterostructure easily accepts electrons in water and plays a crucial role in the oxygen evolution reaction. Meanwhile, the low-valence Sn (II) can maintain a stable structure in the electrochemical reaction and thus exhibits good electrochemical performance with an overpotential of 380 mV, at the current density of 10 mA cm^-2, and a low Tafel slope of 63 mV dec^-1, which is far lower than that of pure SnS or SnS₂.