Highly Desirable Platform for Efficient Hydrogen Generation: Electrodeposited CoP on N-Doped Vertical Graphene

Vertically oriented graphene nanohills (VGNHs) have been used to boost the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities of various catalysts. To further enhance the HER efficiency, a chemical modification was applied to VGNHs, and a significant improvement was observed in this work. Specifically, the catalytic performances of electrodeposited CoP on as-grown VGNHs (CoP@VGNHs) and on HNO3-treated VGNHs (CoP@N-VGNHs) were compared. The HER performances of the CoP@N-VGNH hybrid were even superior to those of noble metals, manifesting low overpotentials (eta(10) = 30 mV in acid and eta(10) = 87 mV in alkali), fast electron transfer, and durability in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes. This emphasizes the potential of physically and chemically modified graphene in the realm of water electrolysis.

Automated summary

Vertically oriented graphene nanohills, chemically modified to boost the hydrogen evolution reaction efficiency, showed superior catalytic performance compared to noble metals, with low overpotentials, fast electron transfer, and durability in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes. This highlights the potential of physically and chemically modified graphene in water electrolysis.