Highly efficient hydrogen evolution by self-standing nickel phosphide-based hybrid nanosheet arrays electrocatalyst. (March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mishra, Ishwar Kumar; Zhou, Haiqing; Sun, Jingying; Dahal, Keshab; Ren, Zhensong; He, Ran; Chen, Shuo; Ren, Zhifeng
• Is Part Of: Materials today physics. Volume 4(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 6
• Publication Date: 2018-03
• Subjects: Nanosheets -- Nickel phosphide -- Hydrogen evolution reaction -- Water splitting -- Electrocatalysts; Materials science -- Periodicals; Physics -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 530.41
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mtphys.2018.01.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2542-5293

Abstract

Abstract: Hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst made from earth-abundant elements for electrocatalytic water splitting is essential for sustainable and clean hydrogen economy. At present, how to make efficient catalysts with superior catalytic activity from cheap raw materials in large scale remains a great challenge. Here, we report a new nickel phosphide-based hybrid nanosheet arrays electrocatalyst, synthesized by a one-step phosphorization of commercial nickel (Ni) foam, for hydrogen evolution in water splitting. In acidic medium, the nickel phosphide nanosheet arrays exhibit very stable and fast hydrogen evolution kinetics with a relatively low overpotentials of 61 mV and 121 mV to achieve current densities of −10 and −100 mA cm −2, respectively, with a Tafel slope of 51 mV dec −1, showing comparable performance to the most efficient non-noble metal based hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts reported so far. This robust electrocatalyst, made from commercially available materials, holds a potential for the industrialization of clean hydrogen energy. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Three-dimensional nickel phosphide-based hybrid nanosheet arrays are facially synthesized via one-step phosphorization using earth-abundant and commercially available materials. This synthetic procedure can be compatible with sizable electrode. These hybrid nanosheet arrays can be directly employed as a self-standing electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution. The catalytic performance is outstanding with good durability in acid (−10 mA cm −2 at −61 mV).