Preparation of amorphous NiP-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions

Amorphous alloy NiP and its carbon composite catalysts NiP/C and NiP/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were successfully one-pot synthesized using NaH2PO2 and NiSO4 as phosphorus and nickel source, respectively. The electrocatalysts were characterized with transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction spectrometer (XRD), inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) performance of the electrocatalysts was evaluated with a linear sweep voltammetry method in both acidic and alkaline solution. Among them, NiP/RGO elctrocatalyst exhibited 89.0 mV onset overpotential and Tafel slope 135.1 mV/decade in acidic solution, as well as 116.1 mV onset overpotential and Tafel slope 122.4 mV/decade in alkaline solution with excellent long-term stability. Results indicated that the NiP/RGO was a very active catalyst.