Hollow CoP/FeP4 Heterostructural Nanorods Interwoven by CNT as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reactions

Electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen is crucial for developing sustainable clean energy and protecting the environment. However, because of the multi-electron transfer in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process, the kinetics of the reaction is seriously hindered. To address this issue, we designed and synthesized hollow CoP/FeP4 heterostructural nanorods interwoven by carbon nanotubes (CoP/FeP4@CNT) via a hydrothermal reaction and a phosphorization process. The CoP/FeP4@CNT hybrid catalyst delivers prominent OER electrochemical performances: it displays a substantially smaller Tafel slope of 48.0 mV dec(-1) and a lower overpotential of 301 mV at 10 mA cm(-2), compared with an RuO2 commercial catalyst; it also shows good stability over 20 h. The outstanding OER property is mainly attributed to the synergistic coupling between its unique CNT-interwoven hollow nanorod structure and the CoP/FeP4 heterojunction, which can not only guarantee high conductivity and rich active sites, but also greatly facilitate the electron transfer, ion diffusion, and O-2 gas release and significantly enhance its electrocatalytic activity. This work offers a facile method to develop transition metal-based phosphide heterostructure electrocatalysts with a unique hierarchical nanostructure for high performance water oxidation.

Automated summary

This study introduces a novel hybrid catalyst with excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, attributed to the synergistic coupling between its unique structures. The research provides a simple method for developing high-performance water oxidation catalysts.