One-Step Electrodeposition of Co/CoP Film on Ni Foam for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Solution

The development of high-efficiency catalysts for hydrogen evolution via water splitting has been an effective strategy to solve the energy environmental problems and energy crisis. The abundant-reserving transition metals and their phosphides are becoming attractive Pt alternatives for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, a crystalline/amorphous Co/CoP film was facilely prepared on nickel foam (NF) by a one-step electrodeposition technique at room temperature, named Co/CoP-NF. The as-prepared Co/CoP-NF electrocatalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for HER, on par with Pt/C, showing a low overpotential of 35 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm–2 and small Tafel slope of 71 mV·dec–1 in 1.0 M NaOH solution. More importantly, the Co/CoP-NF catalyst presents good long-term durability at an overpotential of 60 mV. Moreover, the influence of the electrodeposition parameters on the catalytic performance of the catalyst was discussed. This study offers an effective strategy to develop a non-noble-metal HER catalyst for industrial production of hydrogen.