Interface engineering of mesoporous triphasic cobalt–copper phosphides as active electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

TY - JOUR

T1 - Interface engineering of mesoporous triphasic cobalt–copper phosphides as active electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

AU - Saad, Ali

AU - Cheng, Zhixing

AU - Shen, Hangjia

AU - Guo, Haichuan

AU - Attfield, John Paul

AU - Thomas, Tiju

AU - Yang, Minghui

PY - 2020/12/17

Y1 - 2020/12/17

N2 - Efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting are essential for viable generation of highly purified hydrogen. Hence there is a need to develop robust catalysts to eliminate barriers associated with sluggish kinetics associated with both anodic oxygen and cathodic hydrogen evolution reactions. Herein, we report a two-step nanocasting-solid phase phosphorization approach to generate ordered mesoporous triphasic phosphides CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P. We show that it is a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst useful for overall water splitting. The mesoporous triphasic CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P only requires a low overpotential of 255 mV and 188 mV to achieve 10 mA cm −2for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions, respectively. The combination of mesoporous pores (∼5.6 nm) with very thin walls (∼3.7 nm) and conductive networks in triphasic CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P enable rapid rate of electron transfer and mass transfer. In addition, when CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P is used to fabricate symmetric electrodes, the high surface area mesoporous structure and synergetic effects between phases together contribute to a low cell voltage of 1.54 V to drive a current density 10 mA cm −2. This performance is superior to noble-metal-based Pt/C-IrO 2/C. This work provides a new approach for the facile design and application of multiphase phosphides as highly active bifunctional and stable electrocatalysts for water-alkali electrolyzers.

AB - Efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting are essential for viable generation of highly purified hydrogen. Hence there is a need to develop robust catalysts to eliminate barriers associated with sluggish kinetics associated with both anodic oxygen and cathodic hydrogen evolution reactions. Herein, we report a two-step nanocasting-solid phase phosphorization approach to generate ordered mesoporous triphasic phosphides CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P. We show that it is a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst useful for overall water splitting. The mesoporous triphasic CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P only requires a low overpotential of 255 mV and 188 mV to achieve 10 mA cm −2for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions, respectively. The combination of mesoporous pores (∼5.6 nm) with very thin walls (∼3.7 nm) and conductive networks in triphasic CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P enable rapid rate of electron transfer and mass transfer. In addition, when CoP@Cu 2P-Cu 3P is used to fabricate symmetric electrodes, the high surface area mesoporous structure and synergetic effects between phases together contribute to a low cell voltage of 1.54 V to drive a current density 10 mA cm −2. This performance is superior to noble-metal-based Pt/C-IrO 2/C. This work provides a new approach for the facile design and application of multiphase phosphides as highly active bifunctional and stable electrocatalysts for water-alkali electrolyzers.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102414472&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/D0SE01745K

DO - 10.1039/D0SE01745K

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2398-4902

VL - 5

SP - 1366

EP - 1373

JO - Sustainable Energy & Fuels

JF - Sustainable Energy & Fuels

IS - 5

ER -