Synthesis of nest-like porous MnCo–P electrocatalyst by electrodeposition on nickel foam for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

It is very important to develop hydrogen evolution catalyst with high activity and low cost to solve energy crisis. The abundant non-precious metals and phosphides have attracted much attention and are expected to replace platinum catalysts. Herein, we report an approach to prepare nest-like porous MnCo–P electrocatalyst on the nickel foam by two-step electrodeposition. The prepared bimetallic phosphide MnCo–P3/NF has excellent hydrogen catalytic activity. In the 1 M NaOH solution, the current density of 10 mA cm−2 required overpotential is only 47 mV, its Tafel slope is 56.4 mV dec−1, and the higher current density 100 mA cm−2 required overpotential is only 112 mV. More importantly, the MnCo–P3/NF catalyst has a long-term stability of electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. After 24 h catalytic hydrogen evolution test at a constant current density of 20 mA cm−2, its potential basically does not change. Furthermore, the current density only changes slightly after 1500 cycles of CV test. All these well prove that the prepared MnCo–P3/NF catalyst has a long-term hydrogen evolution stability. According to performance testing and morphological characterization, the MnCo–P3/NF has a high hydrogen catalytic activity and stability are due to its larger active area, lower interface charge transfer resistance and stronger mechanical stability. In summary, the study explores a method of preparing bimetallic phosphides as an efficient and stable hydrogen evolution catalyst.