Phosphorous modified metal boride as high efficiency HER electrocatalyst

Abstract

The investigation on highly active and durable electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great significant for renewable energy technologies. Herein, we report the fabrication of a series of amorphous Co10-x-Nix-B-P nanocomposites via a facile chemical reduction and phosphorization method. Compared to the Ni-B-P, Co-B-P, and other Co10-x-Nix-B-P electrodes, the Co8.5-Ni1.5-B-P nanocomposite catalyst exhibited the highest HER electrocatalytic activity in alkaline solution. The overpotential of Co8.5-Ni1.5-B-P is 145 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, and a low Tafel slope of 60.5 mV dec-1 is realized. Co8.5-Ni1.5-B-P also exhibits superior durability, showing no obvious degradation after 50 hours. These new phosphorous-modified borides are proved to be a new low-cost and high-efficiency catalyst system for water splitting.