A novel structure of quasi-monolayered NiCo-bimetal-phosphide for superior electrochemical performance

Bimetallic transition metal phosphides (TMPs) as potential candidates for superior electrochemical per-formance are still facing great challenges in the controllable preparation of two-dimensional (2D) struc-tures with high aspect ratio. Herein, a novel structure of quasi-monolayered NiCo-bimetal-phosphide (NiCoP) has been designed and successfully synthesized by the newly developed process combined with ultrasonic-cavitation and phase-transition. This is the first time to break through the controllable prepa-ration of 2D bimetal-phosphides with a thickness of 0.98 nm in sub-nanoscale. Based on the advantages of 2D quasi-monolayer structure with dense crystalline-amorphous interface and the reconfigured elec-tronic structure between Ni delta+/Co delta+ and P delta-, the optimized Ni5%CoP exhibits an outstanding bifunctional performance for electrocatalyzing both hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in an alkaline medium. Ni5%CoP presents lower overpotentials and voltage of 84 mV & 259 mV and 1.48 V at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 for HER & OER and overall water splitting, respectively, which are superior to most other reported 2D bimetal-phosphides. This work provides a new strategy to optimize the performance of electrolytic water for bimetal-phosphates and it may be of significant value in extending the design of other ultrathin 2D structured catalysts.(c) 2022 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel structure of NiCo-bimetal-phosphide has been successfully designed and synthesized, showing outstanding bifunctional performance for electrolyzing water with lower overpotentials and voltage in both hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction.