Effective construction of 3D Rh/Rh2P flake-like assembled heterostructures for efficient hydrogen evolution

Nowadays, the application of electrochemical water splitting is seriously hindered by sluggish hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte. To overcome this issue, three-dimensional (3D) Rh/Rh2P nano-flake assemblies (Rh/Rh2P-NFAs) were successfully synthesized via partial phosphating in this study. The efficient corporation of P effectively facilitated the adsorption and desorption processes of protons and thus created abundant Rh/Rh2P heterointerfaces in the Rh/Rh2P-NFAs. By virtues of the large active area, fine-modulated electronic structures and improved electrical conductivity, the Rh/Rh2P-NFAs only require the overpotentials of 19.5 mV and 13.4 mV to achieve 10 mA cm(-2) in 1.0 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions, respectively, outperforming most of the previous electrocatalysts. Also, the Rh/Rh2P-NFAs also exhibit amazing electrocatalytic stability during the long-term testing, making it a promising candidate for the HER in both alkaline and acidic media. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study successfully synthesized Rh/Rh2P-NFAs, which created abundant heterointerfaces by effectively facilitating the adsorption and desorption processes of protons through the action of P. Rh/Rh2P-NFAs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance and stability in both alkaline and acidic media.