Non-Metal Single-Phosphorus-Atom Catalysis of Hydrogen Evolution

Non-metal-based single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer low cost, simple synthesis methods, and effective regulation for substrates. Herein, we developed a simplified pressurized gas-assisted process, and report the first non-metal single-atom phosphorus with atomic-level dispersion on unique single-crystal Mo2C hexagonal nanosheet arrays with a (001) plane supported by carbon sheet (SAP-Mo2C-CS). The SAP-Mo2C-CS is structurally stable and shows exceptional electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A so-called high-active window based on the active sites of P atoms and their adjacent Mo atoms gives a Delta G(H*) close to zero for hydrogen evolution, which is the most ideal Delta G(H*) reported so far. Meanwhile, the moderate d-band center value of SAP-Mo2C-CS can be also used as an ideal standard value to evaluate the HER performance in non-metal-based SACs.