A 3D porous WP₂ nanosheets@carbon cloth flexible electrode for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Self-standing porous WP₂ nanosheet arrays on carbon fiber cloth (WP₂ NSs/CC) were synthesized and used as a 3D flexible hydrogen evolution electrode. Because of its 3D porous nanoarray structure, the WP₂ NSs/CC exhibits a remarkable catalytic activity and a high stability. By using the experimental measurements and first-principle calculations, the underlying reasons for the excellent catalytic activity were further explored. Our work makes the present WP₂ NSs as a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution and provides a way to design and fabricate efficient hydrogen evolution electrodes through 3D porous nano-arrays architecture.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

WP₂ / nanosheet arrays / hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst / flexible electrode

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51672031) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 106112017CD-JQJ308820 and 106112017CDJXSYY0002).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-018-1726-7 and is accessible for authorized users.

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