Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of Nickel Cobalt Phosphide Nanoparticles Anchored on Porous N-Doped Fullerene Nanorod for Efficient Overall Water Splitting
Yongqiang Feng, Ran Wang, Peipei Dong, Xiao Wang, Weihang Feng, Junsheng Chen, Liyun Cao, Liangliang Feng, Chaozheng He, Jianfeng Huang
Abstract
Design and fabrication of bifunctional efficient and durable noble-metal-free electrocatalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution is highly desirable and challenging for overall water splitting. Herein, a novel hybrid nanostructure with Ni2P/CoP nanoparticles decorated on a porous N-doped fullerene nanorod (p-NFNR@Ni–Co–P) was developed as a bifunctional electrocatalyst. Benefiting from the electric current collector (ECC) effect of FNR for the active Ni2P/CoP nanoparticles, the p-NFNR@Ni–Co–P exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic performance for overall water splitting in alkaline medium. To deliver a current density of 10 mA cm–2, the electrolytic cell assembled by p-NFNR@Ni–Co–P merely required a potential as low as 1.62 V, superior to the benchmark noble-metal-based electrocatalyst. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrated that the surface engineered FNR serving as an ECC played a critical role in accelerating the charge transfer during the electrocatalytic reaction. The present work paves the way for fullerene nanostructures in the realm of energy conversion and storage.