One-step co-electrodeposition of hierarchical radial NixP nanospheres on Ni foam as highly active flexible electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction and supercapacitor

Abstract

Considering the synergistic effect of transition metal phosphides and 3D structure substrates, herein, we directly deposited well-defined hierarchical radial NixP nanospheres on Ni foam via a facile, one-step co-electrochemical method to function as highly active flexible electrodes for both hydrogen evolution reaction and supercapacitor. Impressively, the bifunctional NixP/NF electrode requires an overpotential of only 63 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and demonstrates a low Tafel slop of 55 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH. Moreover, the electrochemical supercapacitor based on this hierarchical NixP/NF electrode also shows a superior specific capacitance of 1684 mF cm−2 (382.7 F/g) at a current density of 2 mA cm−2 and an outstanding retention ratio of 110.9% of its original capacitance value after 4000 cycles in 6 M KOH. Hopefully, excellent electrochemical performances demonstrate that this NixP/NF material could be a promising candidate for future applications in both hydrogen evolution reactions and supercapacitors.