NiS gradient distribution on arrayed porous carbonized grapefruit peel for water splitting

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Metal-based catalysts on carbon substrates offer synergistic advantages.
• Biomass-derived carbons provide sustainable and structured supports.
• Developing efficient and eco-friendly catalytic materials is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize nickel sulfide (NiS) nanoparticles supported on array porous carbon (APC) derived from grapefruit peel.
• To investigate the effect of sulfur gradient distribution on catalytic performance.
• To establish a relationship between active mass density and catalytic properties.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a carbonization process for grapefruit peel to create APC.
• Impregnated NiS onto APC, controlling sulfur gradient via salt solution concentration.
• Employed theoretical calculations to analyze electronic structure and adsorption energies.
• Evaluated catalytic properties using the proposed active mass density concept.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized NiS/APC with a tunable sulfur gradient.
• Demonstrated that S gradient distribution optimizes electronic structure and intermediate adsorption.
• Observed enhanced intrinsic activity, more active sites, and accelerated mass transfer due to firm anchoring of NiS on APC.
• Proposed active mass density as a metric for evaluating catalytic properties.

Conclusions:

• NiS/APC synthesized from grapefruit peel offers superior catalytic performance.
• Sulfur gradient distribution is a key factor in tuning catalyst electronic structure and activity.
• The active mass density concept provides a valuable framework for catalyst evaluation.