Mn-doped NiP2 nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction at all pH values

Developing stable and high-efficiency hydrogen generation electrocatalysts, particularly for the cathode hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), is an urgent challenge in energy conversion technologies. In this work, we have successfully synthesized Mn-doped NiP2 nanosheets on carbon cloth (Mn-NiP2 NSs/CC), which behaves as a higher efficient three dimensional HER electrocatalyst with better stability at all pH values than pure NiP2. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that the catalytic activity of NiP2 is enhanced by Mn doping. In 0.5 M H2SO4, this Mn - NiP2 NSs/CC catalyst drives 10 mA cm(-2) at an overpotential of 69 mV, which is 20 mV smaller than pure NiP2. To achieve the same current density, it demands overpotentials of 97 and 107 mV in 1.0 M KOH and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), respectively. Compared with pure NiP2, higher HER electrocatalytic performance for Mn - NiP2 NSs/CC can be attributed to its lower thermo-neutral hydrogen adsorption free energy, which is supported by density functional theory calculations.