Efficient and Durable Cu3P-FeP for Hydrogen Evolution from Seawater with Current Density Exceeding 1 A cm-2

The development of catalysts that can carry out hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) at high current densities is of great significance for the realization of industrial alkaline hydrogen evolution. Currently, many commercial catalysts are expensive and do not perform well under harsh industrial conditions. Herein, a robust and economic catalyst for HER at an ultrahigh current density has been designed. Benefiting from the abundant active area, superior intrinsic catalytic performance, and synergistic effect between catalysts, the produced bimetallic phosphide Cu3P-FeP on carbon cloth (Cu3P-FeP@CC) exhibits an outstanding HER performance with low overpotentials of 338 and 406 mV at the current density of 1000 mA cm(-2) in alkaline and saline-alkaline electrolytes, respectively. It also exhibits excellent stability up to 400 h under a large current density. In addition, even under extreme industrial conditions, including strong alkaline electrolytes and high-temperature environments, it still shows superior performance. This work has prepared an economical and feasible catalyst, which may have certain application prospects in large-scale industrial electrolysis of water/seawater.

Automated summary

This study presents the design of an economical and efficient catalyst that exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution performance at ultrahigh current density and superior stability under harsh industrial conditions. The catalyst shows potential for application in large-scale industrial electrolysis of water/seawater.