In situ fabricated nickel vanadate/N-doped reduced graphene oxide hybrid as an advanced electrocatalyst in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Inthe current work, we reported the in situ fabrication of a nickel vanadate (Ni3V2O8)-anchored N-doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO) hybrid by a simple one-step reflux method. Subsequently, the electrocatalytic performance of the Ni3V2O8/NRGO hybrid was investigated in an alkaline medium (1.0 M KOH) for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It was noted that the optimization of the NRGO content (similar to 5.6 wt%) highly influenced the homogeneous distribution of quasi-spherical Ni3V2O8 nanoparticles over NRGO sheets and enhanced the water reduction ability. This hybrid material exhibited a sufficiently high electrochemical active surface area (517.5 cm(2)) and remarkably low charge transfer resistance (similar to 1.6 omega). Furthermore, the very low overpotential (similar to 43 mV) and the high exchange current density (similar to 1.24 mA cm(-2)) of Ni3V2O8/NRGO (5.6 wt%) demonstrated its promising HER performance. Additionally, superior long-term and accelerated stability compared to that of the benchmark Pt/C in a strong basic medium clearly signified that Ni3V2O8/NRGO (5.6 wt%) can act as an efficient, cost-effective, and durable electrocatalyst for water electrolyzers.