Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived Nanotube of Nickel-Cobalt Bimetal Phosphides as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

The design of highly efficient, stable, and noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting is critical but challenging. Herein, a facile and controllable synthesis strategy for nickel-cobalt bimetal phosphide nanotubes as highly efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting via low-temperature phosphorization from a bimetallic metal-organic framework (MOF-74) precursor is reported. By optimizing the molar ratio of Co/Ni atoms in MOF-74, a series of CoxNi gamma P catalysts are synthesized, and the obtained Co4Ni1P has a rare form of nanotubes that possess similar morphology to the MOF precursor and exhibit perfect dispersal of the active sites. The nanotubes show remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic performance in an alkaline electrolyte, affording a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at overpotentials of 129 mV for HER and 245 mV for OER, respectively. An electrolyzer with Co4Ni1P nanotubes as both the cathode and anode catalyst in alkaline solutions achieves a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at a voltage of 1.59 V, which is comparable to the integrated Pt/C and RuO2 counterparts and ranks among the best of the metal-phosphide electrocatalysts reported to date.