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

Abstract 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 by in-situ growth 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–2 for HER in alkaline seawater, respectively. Moreover, it exhibits strong stability for at least 50 hours of electrolysis at a current density of 500 mA cm–2 in 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.