Development of a high-performance platinum-sensitized Co2P/NF electrode for hydrogen production from water decomposition

Clean energy hydrogen, which can be produced by catalytic water splitting, has attracted more and more attention of researchers. Due to their low cost, abundance, and high efficiency, Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have received more and more attention as ever-evolving catalytic materials instead of noble metal catalysts. In this work, The Cobalt hydroxide precursor was first grown on foam nickel (NF) by hydrothermal reaction, which was phosphated to Co 2 P though high temperature vapor phase. Then a small amount of Pt was anchored on the surface of Co 2 P, marked as Pt-Co 2 P/NF, by potential-cycling method. Both electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) and intrinsic catalytic activities of the catalyst were improved, with the performance of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) increasing. The electrochemical test indicated that the Pt-Co 2 P/NF exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance in alkaline electrolyte, and the overpotential was only 13mV and 133mV respectively at 10 and 1000 mA cm -2 . The low Tafel slope of 28 mV dec −1 implied its rapid HER kinetics. Especially at high current density, Pt-Co 2 P/NF showed excellent catalytic activity and stability, which was possible to meet the requirements of hydrogen production industry. Coupled by first principle calculations based on density functional theory (DFT), a mechanism insight of the chemical transformation was provided, which could elucidate the origin of the platinum-sensitized behavior of HER.