Functional MoS2 by the Co/Ni doping as the catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Since the discovery of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of the metal phthalocyanine, the great enthusiasm is ignited for searching the catalysts with low price replacing Pt-based catalysts. Here, the catalytic activities for the ORR on the Co or Ni doped MoS2 are studied by using density-functional theory (DFT). It is found that Co/MoS2 resembles FeN4 active site while Ni/MoS2 is similar with CoN4 active site. In details, for Co/MoS2, under the acid medium, the rate-determining step (RDS) is located at the second H2O formation with a barrier of 1.49 eV. While under the alkaline medium, RDS is the final OH− formation with the barrier of 0.94 eV. For Ni/MoS2, under the acid medium, the RDS is the same as that of Co/MoS2 with a barrier of 0.87 eV. However, RDS is the O formation with the barrier of 0.92 eV under the alkaline medium. Furthermore, due to the intact HOOH adsorption, it is expected that the 2e− ORR is present on Ni/MoS2, which means inferior activity compared with Co/MoS2. Our calculation demonstrates the ability to functionalize inert materials for the ORR and provides new materials to design effective Pt-free catalysts for fuel-cell technology.