Self-Supporting Honeycomb Nickel Cobalt Phosphide on Nickel Foam as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Designing and synthesizing non-noble metal catalysts with efficient hydrogen evolution efficiency are of great significance for large-scale application. Here, a bimetallic compound-combined matrix strategy is developed for the synthesis of honeycomb NiCo-4-P nanosheets on nickel foam (NF). Due to the synergistic advantage of bimetallic atoms, improved conductivity and increased active sites were provided on the NF. The self-supporting NiCo-4-P/NF catalyst proved to be an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst in 1 M KOH with a low overpotential of 99 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2, a Tafel slope of 47 mV dec–1, and a good long-term stability for 12 h. In addition, the effect of bimetallic atom concentration on the hydrogen evolution performance of the catalyst has been discussed. This study provides an effective method for developing nonprecious metal HER electrocatalysts for industrial hydrogen production.