Bimetallic co-doped CoP nanoflower arrays for efficient and stable overall water splitting

Abstract

It is vital to develop efficient earth-abundant bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting to mitigate the global energy crisis and environmental pollution. Here, Mn and W dual transition metal co-doped CoP nanoflower arrays supported on nickel foam (Mn–W–CoP/NF) have been synthesized via the hydrothermal method and chemical vapor deposition. The unique nanoflower-type structure of Mn–W–CoP/NF facilitated high reactive-site exposure and efficient charge transfer. Consequently, Mn–W–CoP/NF exhibited excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in alkaline electrolytes, with low overpotentials of 95.8 and 229.2 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, respectively, at 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, it could be used to construct a two-electrode water-splitting electrolyzer exhibiting stable water splitting at a low cell voltage (1.57 V) at 10 mA cm−2. This study could guide the design and development of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for large-scale water-splitting applications.