Amorphous high-valence Mo-doped NiFeP nanospheres as efficient electrocatalysts for overall water-splitting under large-current density

Abstract

Developing highly efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts toward hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) under the large current act as a pivotal role in their large-scale practical applications. Herein, corrosive engineering and low-temperature phosphorization approach is applied to prepare amorphous Mo-doped NiFeP onto nickel–iron foam (Mo-NiFeP/NIF). The amorphous morphology, the porous NIF and the superhydrophilic surface provide abundant active sites during the electrocatalytic process. Moreover, the high-valence Mo also favors the charge transfer to boost the reaction kinetics. Then, the prepared Mo-NiFeP/NIF achieves 10 mA cm−2 for OER with low overpotentials of 207 mV and 257 mV in 1 M KOH and 1 M KOH + seawater electrolytes, respectively, coupled with remarkable stability under large current density. Moreover, the prepared Mo-NiFeP/NIF also presents excellent electrocatalytic performance for HER with 58 mV to obtain 10 mA cm−2 in KOH. For overall water-splitting, a low cell voltage (1.55 V) is required to achieve 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH and it can be powered by sustainable energy sources, including wind, solar and thermal energies.