Curved trapezoidal Cu3P/NiCoP nanosheet arrays on nickel-cobalt foam for pH-insensitive hydrogen evolution reaction

The rational design and controllable manufacture of electrocatalyst for pH-insensitive hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) based on the abundant elements of the earth is a critical, urgent and challenging task. Herein, a curved trapezoidal nanosheet structure on conductive Ni-Co support (Cu3P/NiCoP/NCF) was designed and fabricated as a novel electrocatalyst for HER, benefiting from the synergism effect between Cu3P and NiCoP phases, the optimal electronic structure, the intrinsic low resistance of the bimetal substrate and the uniform trapezoidal nanosheet structure. The self-supported Cu3P/NiCoP/NCF composite catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for HER in a wide pH range with the overpotentials of 51 mV, 87 mV, and 151 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 in alkaline, acidic and neutral electrolytes, respectively. Impressively, the fabricated Cu3P/NiCoP/NCF catalyst shows ultra-stable electrocatalytic performance and good durability in HER processes. What's more, the Cu3P/NiCoP/NCF could achieve a high current density of at least 300 mA cm-2 in alkaline. This innovative combination of the approach is expected to contribute a feasible strategy to the cause of human energy progress and is promising well beyond the water electrolysis field.

Automated summary

The rational design and controllable manufacture of a novel electrocatalyst Cu3P/NiCoP/NCF demonstrate excellent pH-insensitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance and high stability. The structure and composition of the catalyst play a crucial role in its performance.