Hierarchically Porous W-Doped CoP Nanoflake Arrays as Highly Efficient and Stable Electrocatalyst for pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution

Xinqiang Wang; Yuanfu Chen; Bo Yu; Zegao Wang; Haiqi Wang; Baochen Sun; Wenxin Li; Dongxu Yang; Wanli Zhang

doi:10.1002/smll.201902613

Hierarchically Porous W-Doped CoP Nanoflake Arrays as Highly Efficient and Stable Electrocatalyst for pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution

Small. 2019 Sep;15(37):e1902613. doi: 10.1002/smll.201902613. Epub 2019 Jul 30.

Authors

Xinqiang Wang¹, Yuanfu Chen¹, Bo Yu¹, Zegao Wang^{2

3}, Haiqi Wang¹, Baochen Sun¹, Wenxin Li¹, Dongxu Yang¹, Wanli Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Electronic Science and Engineering, and State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China.
² College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, P. R. China.
³ Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.

PMID: 31361084
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201902613

Abstract

It is still challenging to develop high-efficiency and low-cost non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in pH-universal electrolytes. Herein, hierarchically porous W-doped CoP nanoflake arrays on carbon cloth (W-CoP NAs/CC) are synthesized via facile liquid-phase reactions and a subsequent phosphorization process. The W-CoP NAs/CC hybrid can be directly employed as a binder-free electrocatalyst and delivers superior HER performance in pH-universal electrolytes. Especially, it delivers very low overpotentials of 89, 94, and 102 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 in acidic, alkaline, and neutral electrolytes, respectively. Furthermore, it shows a nearly 100% Faradaic efficiency as well as superior long-term stability with no decreasing up to 36 h in pH-universal electrolytes. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance of W-CoP NAs/CC can be mainly attributed to the porous W-doped nanoflake arrays, which not only afford rich exposed active sites, but also accelerate the access of electrolytes and the diffusion of H₂ bubbles, thus efficiently promoting the HER performance. This work provides a new horizon to rationally design and synthesize highly effective and stable non-noble metal phosphide-based pH-universal electrocatalysts for HER.

Keywords: W-doped CoP; hydrogen evolution reaction; nanoflake arrays; pH-universal electrocatalysts.

Abstract

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