Electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction over Co/P doped carbon derived from triethyl phosphite-deposited 2D nanosheets of Co/Al layered double hydroxides

Abstract

Hydrogen is widely considered an emissions-free alternative energy carrier for sustainable energy devices, such as fuel cells and nickel-metal hydride batteries. Recently, electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from water splitting has been attracted as an eco-friendly process for producing hydrogen. Herein, we report a Co/P-doped carbon material (Co/P/C) derived from cobalt-aluminum layered double hydroxide nanosheets (LDHs) for HER. The Co/P/C was synthesized using triethyl phosphite as phosphate and carbon sources by a one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The regular arrangement of Co and Al atoms in the precursor LDHs allowed Co/P species to be highly dispersed under optimized CVD conditions. The carbon nanotube formed by the CVD process improved the catalytic activity of Co/P/C. The optimized Co/P/C exhibits a low overpotential of 240 mV at −10 mA cm −2 for HER, comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work provides a new direction for developing transition-metal and hetero-atom co-doped carbon materials with high catalytic activity for HER. • Co/P-doped carbon materials are prepared by using layered double hydroxide. • The metal aggregation was prevented by the unique of the layered double hydroxide. • The deposition process using triethyl phosphite can introduce desire Co/P species. • The synthesized Co/P/C shows excellent activity for HER in an acidic media.