Hydrogen generation from catalytic glucose oxidation by Fe-based electrocatalysts

•Fe2P is in situ grown on SSM substrate via direct phosphorization method.•Fe2P/SSM was developed as an efficient electrocatalyst toward GOR.•GOR and HER has been coupled to get enhanced H2 generation.•Fe2P/SSM ||Pt/C electrolyzer is assembled to efficiently catalyze GOR and HER.•Fe2P/SSM ||Pt/C only needs a cell voltage of 1.22 V at 10 mA cm− 2 to produce H2.

Iron phosphide films (Fe2P) grown in situ on stainless steel mesh (SSM) exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance toward the glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) with robust durability. During GOR, the Fe2P could be further transformed into the oxidized Fe species with high catalytic activity. The integrated two-electrode glucose electrolytic cell utilizing Fe2P/SSM and Pt/C exhibited a cell voltage 300 mV lower than water splitting alone, indicating an efficient pathway for H2 production. These features suggest that the replacement of the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with the thermodynamically more favourable GOR in the Pt/C ||Fe2P/SSM configuration is an attractive alternative for electrolytic H2 generation.

Graphical abstractA promising strategy has been developed to get energy-saving electrolytic H2 generation at the integrated two-electrode system employing Fe2P/SSM and Pt/C by replacing OER with thermodynamically more favourable oxidation of glucose.Download high-res image (276KB)Download full-size image