Self-supported nanoporous cobalt phosphosulfate electrodes for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

The morphology and crystallographic surface can influence the catalytic HER activity of electrocatalyst. With sufficient active sites and surface area, nanoporous materials with three-dimensional interconnected porous networks have shown the promising application in electrocatalyst. In this work, we report a simple method that can synthesize the self-supported nanoporous cobalt phosphosulfate (CoP vertical bar S) electrocatalyst. Theoretical calculation shows that the phosphorus substitution by sulfur can control the electronic structures of the active sites and accelerate charge transfer of CoP, therefore improving HER activity. The experimental study shows that nanoporous CoP vertical bar S electrodes present the improved HER performance compared with CoP in alkaline media and acidic media, respectively.