Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis from Hierarchical Nanostructure Co−P@CoMo−P Electrode

Abstract

AbstractThe construction of hierarchical nanostructures is a fascinating target because of their promising applications in electronic analysis and catalysis. Herein, we establish a 3‐d hierarchical nanostructure Co−P@CoMo−P to enhance the catalytic ability. The hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic ability was enhanced significantly with a Tafel slope of 34 mV dec−1 and an overpotential of 37 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2, which are superior to that of recently reported non‐noble metal catalysts. The high catalytic performance could be rationalized as follows: (1) Co−P nanowire intimately contacted with Ni foam enables good mechanical adhesion and facilitates the flow of electrons from Ni foam to CoMo−P nanosheet; (2) the hierarchical nanostructure can expose more active sites and transport reactants and products sufficiently; (3) the space between two separate hierarchical nanostructures is loose and open, allowing electrolyte to diffuse into all the active sites and make them used efficiently. This work is promising for the development of novel non‐noble metal catalysts for energy technologies.