Anchoring RuxP on 3D hollow graphene nanospheres as efficient and pH-universal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Rational design and development of ruthenium phosphide-based nanomaterials with Pt-like catalytic performance and long-term stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are highly desirable. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) hybrid of graphene hollow nanospheres-supported ruthenium phosphides through a nanosphere-directed templating approach is developed. As expected, when evaluated as an electrocatalyst for the HER, the resultant composite exhibits excellent catalytic performance over a wide pH range due to the synergistic effects of the unique structure and composition. Particularly, the catalyst shows a low overpotential of 25.5 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm(-2), a small Tafel slope of 34.4 mV dec(-1), as well as long-term operational stability for 10 h in basic conditions, which is superior to all other reported HER catalysts, including commercial 20% Pt-C. More importantly, this work provides new options for the design of 3D hollow graphene nanospheres supported transition metal phosphides as high-performance electrocatalysts for large-scale hydrogen production. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.