Self-Supported Bimetallic Phosphide Heterojunction-Integrated Electrode Promoting High-Performance Alkaline Anion-Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Developing effective, stable, and economical catalysts toward overall water splitting under industrial conditions is crucial for the large-scale production of green hydrogen. Herein, we report a general method to fabricate bimetallic phosphide heterojunctions on nickel foam (NF) for water electrolysis. Benefiting from the unique self-supported integrated structure and optimized electronic structure, the Co2P-Ni12P5/NF and Fe2P-Ni12P5/NF heterojunction exhibits ultralow overpotentials of 219 mV for hydrogen evolution and 342 mV for oxygen evolution at 1000 mA cm(-2) in 1 M KOH, respectively. Notably, the assembled two-electrode system attains a high current density of 1000 mA cm(-2) with a low cell voltage of 1.678 V under simulated industrial electrolysis conditions. Furthermore, when applied in an anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) cell, Co2P-Ni12P5/NF parallel to Fe2P-Ni12P5/NF exhibits superior performance over commercial Pt/C/NF parallel to IrO2/NF. Our study provides a general method for developing economical and practical water-splitting electrocatalysts for large-scale renewable hydrogen production.

Automated summary

This article reports a general method for fabricating bimetallic phosphide heterojunctions on nickel foam for water electrolysis. The heterojunctions exhibit low overpotentials and high current densities under industrial conditions, demonstrating good electrocatalytic performance.