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Anchoring ultrafine molybdenum phosphide on hierarchical three-dimensional CNTs/rGO framework as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

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Abstract

Massive efforts have been made to achieve highly efficient electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen production via water splitting. Here, a three-dimentional (3D) reduced graphene oxide carbon nanotubes (CNTs/rGO) framework for anchoring molybdenum phosphide nanoparticles is reported for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high performance. The enhanced electrocatalytic activity is attributed to the plenty of factors: the hierarchical 3D structure of rGO sheets and CNTs with rich active sites, the uniform distribution of RuP2 nanoparticles, chemical bonding character of RuP2 and carbon support, and the interfacial electric effect among different components. The RuP2 anchored on CNTs/rGO with mass ratio of 5:2 exhibit the low onset potential of -14.7 V vs. RHE and the lowest overpotential of 50.1 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in corrosive acidic electrolyte, which are comparable to those of commercial Pt/C (20 wt%). The CNTs in the CNTs/rGO framework can contribute to the well-distribution of RuP2 and rGO sheets and further facilitate the high-rate electron transfer, which will effectively promote the electrocatalytic activity for HER.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly acknowledge financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178031) , Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges of Changzhou (CZ20210036), Scientific Research Foundation of Jiangsu Provincial Education Department (21KJA480001), the Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (TAPP), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), and Qinglan Project Foundation of Jiangsu Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science & Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials Surface Science and Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Linlin Luo, Changhai Liu, Zheng Li, Lili Zhang, Wenting Xie & Tingting Zhang

  2. School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Zhidong Chen

  3. College of Hua Loogeng, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Zheng Li

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  1. Linlin Luo
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  4. Lili Zhang
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LL, ZL, and LZ contribute to the preparation and data collections. WX and TZ contribute to the materials characterizations. CL and ZC contribute to the critical revision, Project administration, and Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Changhai Liu or Zhidong Chen.

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Luo, L., Liu, C., Li, Z. et al. Anchoring ultrafine molybdenum phosphide on hierarchical three-dimensional CNTs/rGO framework as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 3175–3185 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07519-5

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