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Vol. 13 (2021)

Electrochemical Surface Restructuring of Phosphorus-Doped Carbon@MoP Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00737-w
Huimin Jiang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Liting Yan
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Shuo Zhang
College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Huangdao District, No. 66, West Changjiang Road, Qingdao 266580, People’s Republic of China
Yanchao Zhao
College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Huangdao District, No. 66, West Changjiang Road, Qingdao 266580, People’s Republic of China
Xue Yang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Yameng Wang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Jianxing Shen
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Xuebo Zhao
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), No. 3501, Daxue Road, Changqing District, Jinan 250353, People’s Republic of China
Lianzhou Wang
Nanomaterials Centre, School of Chemical Engineering and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

Corresponding Author: Lianzhou Wang

l.wang@uq.edu.au

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 215

Abstract

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) through electrocatalysis is promising for the production of clean hydrogen fuel. However, designing the structure of catalysts, controlling their electronic properties, and manipulating their catalytic sites are a significant challenge in this field. Here, we propose an electrochemical surface restructuring strategy to design synergistically interactive phosphorus-doped carbon@MoP electrocatalysts for the HER. A simple electrochemical cycling method is developed to tune the thickness of the carbon layers that cover on MoP core, which significantly influences HER performance. Experimental investigations and theoretical calculations indicate that the inactive surface carbon layers can be removed through electrochemical cycling, leading to a close bond between the MoP and a few layers of coated graphene. The electrons donated by the MoP core enhance the adhesion and electronegativity of the carbon layers; the negatively charged carbon layers act as an active surface. The electrochemically induced optimization of the surface/interface electronic structures in the electrocatalysts significantly promotes the HER. Using this strategy endows the catalyst with excellent activity in terms of the HER in both acidic and alkaline environments (current density of 10 mA cm−2 at low overpotentials, of 68 mV in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 67 mV in 1.0 M KOH).


Highlights:


1 An electrochemical-induced surface restructuring strategy is developed to design phosphorus-doped carbon@MoP electrocatalysts which exhibits excellent activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes.
2 The activation process and the fundamental mechanism of the prominent synergistic interaction between the phosphorus-doped carbon and MoP are elucidated.

Keywords

Electrochemical surface restructuring Hydrogen evolution Molybdenum phosphide nanowires Phosphorus-doped carbon Synergistic interaction
Jiang, Huimin, Liting Yan, Shuo Zhang, Yanchao Zhao, Xue Yang, Yameng Wang, Jianxing Shen, Xuebo Zhao, and Lianzhou Wang. 2021. “Electrochemical Surface Restructuring of Phosphorus-Doped Carbon@MoP Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (October):215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00737-w.
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