Highly Efficient Synthesis of Carbon-Based Molybdenum Phosphide Nanoparticles for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Yang Li,Ranran Tang,Wenhan Zhou,Qilin Huang,Jun Liu,Lun Cai

doi:10.1186/s11671-020-3246-x

Yang Li, Ranran Tang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-020-3246-x

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Journal: Nanoscale Research Letters	Publication Date: Jan 9, 2020
Citations: 11	License type: open-access

Abstract

Molybdenum phosphide in transition metal phosphides members are considered as an attractive electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, its unsatisfactory stability and conductivity in an alkaline environment has dragged on its development. Here, we successfully introduced N, C co-doped MoP (MoP-NC) nanoparticles by a simple and efficient two-step synthesis method using urea as a carbon source into the molybdenum phosphide system. The cheapness of urea and the excellent carbon to nitrogen ratio remove the obstacles ahead of the development of MoP-NC composites. The obtained composites have excellent HER electrocatalytic activity and stability in 1-M potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution, which requires only an overpotential of 131 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and exhibits negligible performance degradation after 1000 CV cycles.

Highlights

In recent years, the rapid development of human beings has led to the gradual depletion of fossil energy [1,2,3]
It is worth noting that recently researchers have found that some non-precious metal catalysts have a good price/performance ratio in the direction of hydrogen evolution, among which the most widely used Molybdenum phosphide (MoP) in transition metal phosphides (TMPs) [14,15,16,17]
In order to explore the influence of carbon source on material synthesis, MoP-C was prepared by using glucose instead of urea as carbon source

Summary

Introduction

The rapid development of human beings has led to the gradual depletion of fossil energy [1,2,3]. It is worth noting that recently researchers have found that some non-precious metal catalysts have a good price/performance ratio in the direction of hydrogen evolution, among which the most widely used Molybdenum phosphide (MoP) in transition metal phosphides (TMPs) [14,15,16,17]. The conductivity of pure molybdenum phosphide is not satisfactory, and the hydrogen evolution performance and stability in an alkaline solution are not as good as in an acidic environment, so that the conductivity and stability can be enhanced by introducing a carbon-based material [20,21,22].

Results

Conclusion