Synergistic effects of interface and phase engineering on telluride toward alkaline/neutral hydrogen evolution reaction in freshwater/seawater

Abstract

The development of efficient, stable, and versatile hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts is of great meaning, but still faces challenging. Interface engineering and phase engineering have been immensely applied in the field of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) because of their unique physicochemical properties. However, they are typically used separately, which limits their effectiveness. Herein, we propose an interface-engineered CoMo/CoTe electrocatalyst, consisting of an amorphous CoMo (a-CoMo) layer-encapsulated crystalline CoTe array, achieving the profound optimization of catalytic performance. The experimental results and density functional theory calculations show that the d-band center of the catalyst shifts further upward in contrast with its crystalline–crystalline counterpart, optimizing the electronic structure and the intermediate adsorption, thereby reducing the kinetic barrier of HER. The a-CoMo/CoTe with superhydrophilic/superaerophobic features shows excellent catalytic performance in alkaline, neutral, and simulated seawater environments.