3D Network nanostructured NiCoP nanosheets supported on N-doped carbon coated Ni foam as a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions

Abstract

A highly active bi-functional electrocatalyst towards both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions is critical for the water splitting. Herein, a self-supported electrode composed of 3D network nanostructured NiCoP nanosheets grown on N-doped carbon coated Ni foam (NiCoP/NF@NC) has been synthesized by a hydrothermal route and a subsequent phosphorization process. As a bifunctional electrocatalyst, the NiCoP/NF@NC electrode needs overpotentials of 31.8 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction and 308.2 mV for oxygen evolution reaction to achieve the current density of 10 mA·cm⁻² in 1 mol·L⁻¹ KOH electrolyte. This is much better than the corresponding monometal catalysts of CoP/NF@NC and NiP/NF@NC owing to the synergistic effect. NiCoP/NF@NC also exhibits low Tafel slope, and excellent long-term stability, which are comparable to the commercial noble catalysts of Pt/C and RuO₂.

Key words： bimetallic phosphides; N-doped carbon; self-support; hydrogen evolution; oxygen evolution

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of this research by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21631004 and 21771059), the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (No. B2017008), the University Nursing Program for Young Scholars with Creative Talents in Heilongjiang Province (No. UNPYSCT-2016016), the Harbin science and technology innovation talents research Foundation (No. 2015RAQXJ057).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-018-1711-1 and is accessible for authorized users.

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