Engineering Sulfide-Phosphide Based Double Catalysts On 3d Nickel Phosphides Framework For Electrolytic Hydrogen Evolution: Activating Short-Range Crystalline Mos2 With Ni5p4-Ni2p Template

It is a universal quest to produce molecular hydrogen (H-2) from sustainable green routes to diversify the heavy dependence of fossil fuels for energy consumption. Developing earth-abundant electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is a promising method to generate hydrogen via hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, we strategically promote electron transport and activate the basal planes of MoS2 via a thermal hybridization with vertically-aligned hierarchical nickel phosphide Ni5P4-Ni2P (denoted as MoS2/Ni5P4-Ni2P) for HER. The metallic-like Ni5P4-Ni2P foam promotes electron transportation into the MoS2 matrix by electron injection due to the difference of their Fermi levels. Moreover, MoS2 basal planes are activated by Ni5P4-Ni2P due to phosphorus doping effects, triggering additional actives sites and boosting the overall HER performances. Notably, the HER performance of MoS2/Ni5P4-Ni2P electrode only requires an overpotential of 96 mV to reach a geometric current density of -10 mA cm(-2) with relatively low Tafel slope of 74 mV dec(-1). The catalytic performances can last for at least 22 h at -10 mA cm(-2) without discernible degradation, indicating the extraordinary long-term operation stability. This work provides insights into the synergistic effects of a hybridized catalyst, which may potentially serve as a next-generation electrocatalyst for efficient water splitting. (C) 2020 The Electrochemical Society ("ECS"). Published on behalf of ECS by IOP Publishing Limited.