Highly efficient and stable MoP-RGO nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

Electrochemical splitting of water to obtain hydrogen plays a vital role in high energy density devices, especially for fuel cells. In this work, reduced graphene oxide supported molybdenum phosphide nanoparticles (MoP-RGO) were prepared via a facile solvothermal reaction followed by high-temperature phosphating treatment. The electrochemical measurement results indicate that the MoP-RGO nanocomposite obtained at 900 °C exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotentials of 117 mV and 150 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in acid and alkaline media, respectively. Furthermore, the instability of the catalyst in basic medium was systemically investigated. This work provides a facile strategy for the synthesis of cost-effective carbon supported metal phosphide as HER electrocatalyst.

Graphical abstractGraphene supported MoP (MoP-RGO) was synthesized through a facile solvothermal reaction followed by high-temperature phosphating treatment method. The material exhibits an outstanding HER performance in both acid and alkaline media. RGO act as a substrate which can not only avoid the nanoparticles aggregation, but also facilitate the electron transfer during the electrocatalytic process.Download high-res image (175KB)Download full-size image