Designing N-doped graphene-like supported highly dispersed bimetallic NiCoP NPs as an efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation

Electrocatalysts with a high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity are very important for electrochemical water oxidation, but they are also challenging. In this study, N-doped graphene-like supported highly dispersed bimetallic NiCoP NPs as an efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation were prepared by using cation exchange resin as a carbon source and by loading cobalt and nickel on D001 by a high-temperature calcination method. The designed electrocatalyst with bimetallic phosphide as the active center shows excellent OER catalytic performance, with an overpotential of 324 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a corresponding Tafel slope of 97.28 mV dec-1. The increase in NiCoP-3@GL activity may be due to the increase in surface area (933.49 m2 g-1) caused by the irregular morphology, rich interface contact, and porous structure. In addition, the strong combination of NiCoP and GL improves the structural stability and durability of the electrocatalyst. After 5000 cyclic voltammetry tests, the performance of the catalyst decreased by 16.9 %. This work provides a new idea for designing efficient bimetallic phosphide electrocatalysts. Co/Ni bimetallic phosphides were synthesized using ion exchange resin, which endows them with the advantages of porosity and a large specific surface area.

Automated summary

This study prepared highly dispersed bimetallic NiCoP NPs supported by N-doped graphene-like material as an efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation. This designed electrocatalyst showed excellent OER catalytic performance, and the increased activity of NiCoP-3@GL may be attributed to the increase in surface area caused by irregular morphology, rich interface contact, and porous structure. Additionally, the strong combination of NiCoP and GL improved the structural stability and durability of the electrocatalyst.