Ternary FexCo1-xP Nanowire Array as a Robust Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalyst with Pt-like Activity: Experimental and Theoretical Insight.
Replacement of precious Pt with earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) holds great promise for clean energy devices, but the development of low-cost and durable HER catalysts with Pt-like activity is still a huge challenge. In this communication, we report on the development of self-standing ternary FexCo1-xP nanowire array on carbon cloth (FexCo1-xP/CC) as a Pt-free HER catalyst with activities being strongly related to Fe substitution ratio. Electrochemical tests show that Fe0.5Co0.5P/CC not only possesses Pt-like activity with the need of overpotential of only 37 mV to drive 10 mA cm-2, outperforming all non-noble-metal HER catalysts reported to date, but demonstrates superior long-term durability in 0.5 M H2SO4. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that Fe substitution of Co in CoP leads to more optimal free energy of hydrogen adsorption to the catalyst surface. This study offers us a promising flexible monolithic catalyst for practical applications.
College of Chemistry, Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064, Sichuan China.
Chun
C
Tang
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, Jilin, China.
Linfeng
L
Gan
College of Chemistry, Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064, Sichuan China.
Rong
R
Zhang
College of Chemistry, Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064, Sichuan China.
Wenbo
W
Lu
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, Jilin, China.
Xiue
X
Jiang
Chemistry Department, King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah M
AM
Asiri
College of Chemistry, Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064, Sichuan China.
Xuping
X
Sun
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, Jilin, China.|Department of Chemistry and Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook , New York, New York 11794-3400, United States.
Jin
J
Wang
Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, China.
Liang
L
Chen
CoP; Ternary; density functional theory; electrocatalyst; hydrogen evolution reaction