Synthesis of 3D heterostructure Co-doped Fe2P electrocatalyst for overall seawater electrolysis

Abstract

Electrolysis of seawater makes full use of this natural resource and continuously turns it into a clean fuel, hydrogen. Electrocatalysts for seawater electrolysis must maintain a steady-state operation without suffering from chloride corrosion. In this study, we report a three-dimensional structure metal phosphide electrocatalyst by depositing cobalt-doped Fe2P (Co-Fe2P) on Ni foam. Density functional theory calculations showed that Co-Fe2P was beneficial for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) because of its suitable H* adsorption. Thus, the as-prepared Co-Fe2P acted as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst, exhibiting enhanced electrocatalytic properties for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and HER. Moreover, the simulated alkaline seawater was used to determine the optimum potential (1.69 V at 100 mA cm−2) required for seawater splitting using the as-synthesized electrocatalyst. This study proposes a novel material for electrocatalytic application.