Iron-nickel metal foams modified by phosphides as robust catalysts for a hydrogen evolution reaction

• Fe–Ni metal foams prepared by replication method and modified by phosphorization. • NiP catalyst show remarkable electroactivity with low Tafel slope of 37.3 mV.dec −1 . • FeNiP and NiP achieved 1.66 V and 1.61 V @ 10 mA cm −2 in electrolyser set up. • Both catalysts show outstanding stability for over 22 h in alkaline media.