Zr-doped porous Ni2P nanoarray as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline seawater

The utilization of seawater electrolysis is recognized as a promising method for generating hydrogen as a substitute for conventional technology. Herein, the electrodes were fabricated byin-situgrowth of Zr-Ni₂P arrays on a nickel foam substrate (Zr-Ni₂P/NF) through a low-temperature hydrothermal and phosphating process. The Zr-Ni₂P/NF can achieve efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in alkaline seawater electrolyte. This Zr-Ni₂P/NF shows overpotentials as low as 197 and 274 mV at 100 and 500 mA cm^-2for HER in alkaline seawater, respectively. Moreover, it exhibits strong stability for at least 50 h of electrolysis at a current density of 500 mA cm^-2in alkaline seawater with the overpotential attenuation of 38 mV. The excellent performance and hierarchical structure advantages of Zr-Ni₂P/NF provide new ideas for designing efficient seawater splitting electrocatalysts.