Induced Phosphorization-Derived Well-Dispersed Molybdenum Phosphide Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Hollow N-Doped Carbon Nanospheres for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

Molybdenum phosphide (MoP) nanoparticles encapsulated in N,P-codoped hollow carbon nanospheres (MoP@NPC-H) have been synthesized as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on an induced phosphorization of an inorganic-organic Mo-P/polyaniline-pyrrole precursor. Notably, the P sources in the polyaniline-pyrrole precursor are responsible for the formation of well-dispersed MoP nanoparticles and enlarged hollow carbon nanospheres through a P-induced process, which can be described as induced phosphorization for realizing the shift and good dispersion of MoP encapsulated in carbon nanospheres. In addition, the polyaniline-pyrrole precursor could avoid the aggregation of MoP nanoparticles and protect MoP from corrosion during the HER process. N,P-codoped carbon layers provide remarkable conductivity for the higher utilization of active sites. Moreover, compared to solid nanostructures (MoP@NPC-S), the MoP@NPC-H possesses a larger BET surface area and implies superior HER performance, which...