Heterostructured CoFeP/CoP as an Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Media
Lichao Tan, Ranran He, Anran Shi, Linjiang Xue, Yimin Wang, Hongpeng Li, Xiumei Song
Abstract
Developing highly efficient and persistent transition-metal-phosphide (TMP)-based electrocatalysts is critical for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via water splitting in alkaline media. Herein, we constructed a unique heterostructured CoFeP/CoP grown on a nickle foam (NF) via hydrothermal and dipping methods followed by phosphorization at different temperatures for HER. The experimental results exhibit that the HER activity of CoFeP/CoP-400 is accelerated after the construction of heterostructures. The unique heterostructure provides plentiful active sites and a large surface area, which are beneficial for HER in 1.0 M KOH. CoFeP/CoP-400 displays a small overpotential of 78 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm –2 and a smaller Tafel slope of 55.5 mV dec –1 . Moreover, CoFeP/CoP-400 shows excellent stability with a long-term operating time of 12 h. This work provides an effective method for the construction of TMPs with heterostructures for promoting energy conversion.