Polydopamine coated prussian blue analogue derived hollow carbon nanoboxes with FeP encapsulated for hydrogen evolution

Design of hollow carbon structure by using metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) precursors has come under the spotlight in electrochemical energy related applications due to its structure advantages. Here, a bimetal-based MOF (Zn and Fe) is adopted to synthesize hollow carbon nanobox with encapsulation of FeP nanoparticles. An unique core-shell architecture consisting of Zn-Fe Prussian blue analogue (PBA) core and polydopamine shell is first synthesized, followed by pyrolysis-oxidation-phosphorization process to prepare monodispersed FeP nanoparticles encapsulated in hollow carbon nanobox (denoted as FeP/HCNB). Electrochemical hydrogen evolution activity is chosen to investigate the structure advantage of FeP/HCNB. It achieves overpotentials of −88 mV and −180 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in acidic and alkaline solutions, respectively, and continuous operation for 15 h (start at 20 mA cm−2). It is therefore expected that the synthetic strategy of nanobox would enlighten the preparation of various nanostructures for different applications.