Porous Molybdenum Phosphide Nano-Octahedrons Derived from Confined Phosphorization in UIO-66 for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Herein, a series of porous nano-structured carbocatalysts have been fused and decorated by Mo-based composites, such as Mo2C, MoN, and MoP, to form a hybrid structures. Using the open porosity derived from the pyrolysis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), the highly dispersive MoO2 small nanoparticles can be deposited in porous carbon by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Undergoing different treatments of carbonization, nitridation, and phosphorization, the Mo2C-, MoN-, and MoP-decorated carbocatalysts can be selectively prepared with un-changed morphology. Among these Mo-based composites, the MoP@Porous carbon (MoP@PC) composites exhibited remarkable catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 0.5m H2SO4 aqueous solution versus MoO2@PC, Mo2C@PC, and MoN@PC. This study gives a promising family of multifunctional lab-on-a-particle architectures which shed light on energy conversion and fuel-cell catalysis.