Modulating the electronic structure of Mo2C/MoP heterostructure to boost hydrogen evolution reaction in a wide pH range
Jingwen Ma, Tianai Zhang, Fusheng Yin, Jun Wang, Zhijun Zhang, Chunwen Sun
Abstract
Interface engineering is an effective strategy for the design of electrochemical catalysts with attractive performance for hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, the Molybdenum carbide/molybdenum phosphide (Mo 2 C/MoP) heterostructure deposited on nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) co-doped carbon substrate (Mo 2 C/MoP-NPC) is fabricated by one-step carbonization. The electronic structure of Mo 2 C/MoP-NPC is changed by optimizing the ratio of phytic acid and aniline. The calculation and experimental results also show that there is an electron interaction on the Mo 2 C/MoP interface, which optimizes the adsorption free energy of hydrogen (H) and improves the performance of hydrogen evolution reaction. Mo 2 C/MoP-NPC exhibits significant low overpotentials at 10 mA·cm −2 current density, 90 mV in 1 M KOH and 110 mV in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , respectively. In addition, it shows superior stability over a broad pH range. This research provides an effective method for the construction of novel heterogeneous electrocatalysts and is conducive to the development of green energy.