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Modulating electronic structure of multilayer flake-like Ni–CoxP bimetallic catalyst for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline and acidic medium

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Abstract

As the efficient and low-cost alternatives to noble metal-based catalysts, transition metal phosphides (TMPs) exhibit excellent catalytic activity and stability in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, the ion doping strategy is adopted to further boost the electrocatalytic performance of TMPs. Herein, a multilayer flake-like Ni–CoxP bimetallic catalyst has been successfully fabricated through the reduction process of the synthesized phosphide (Ni–CoP). The synergistic effect of CoP/Co2P and Ni doping could result in the modulated electronic structure, high conductivity, and fast electron and mass transfer of the catalyst. Moreover, the refined nanostructure of Ni–CoxP nanosheets (NSs) affords more exposed active sites and electrochemical surface area, which are considered to be effective approaches to increase the catalytic activity for HER. Specifically, the overpotentials of Ni–CoxP NSs could reach 106 mV and 172 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline and acid medium, respectively. Meanwhile, Ni–CoxP NSs also demonstrate favorable stability and durability which are illustrated by chronoamperometry and 2000-cycle tests. Compared with the conventional HER electrocatalysts, the catalyst synthesized by this method is not only cheap and easy to obtain but also lays a solid foundation for the practical industrial application of renewable energy technology.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (1808085ME143) and the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing (2021-KF-20, Wuhan University of Technology).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui, 230009, People’s Republic of China

    Haojiang Dai, Wenhao Liao, Xianfeng Tong & Tianyun Chen

  2. School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui, 230009, People’s Republic of China

    Qinghua Yang

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  1. Haojiang Dai
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Dai, H., Liao, W., Tong, X. et al. Modulating electronic structure of multilayer flake-like Ni–CoxP bimetallic catalyst for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline and acidic medium. Ionics 28, 2895–2902 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-022-04533-3

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