Cauliflower-like Co–B–P ternary catalyst loaded on graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets with synergistically enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction

The design of advanced noble-metal-free electrocatalysts with high activity and good stability for the hydrogen evolution process (HER) is both appealing and challenging. Herein, cauliflower-like Co–B–P nanoparticles anchored on multi-layered g-C3N4 nanosheets (Co–B–P/g-C3N4) are fabricated by a facile electroless deposition method at room temperature. The effect of P/B ratios on electrocatalytic performance of ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalysts for HER is fully investigated in 1.0 M KOH solution. Due to both the synergetic effect among P, B and Co, and the support of multi-layered g-C3N4 nanosheets, ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalyst exhibits satisfactory electrocatalytic HER performances. The onset overpotential for the best ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalyst is only 93 mV, whereas it is 173 mV for binary Co–B/g-C3N4 catalyst. When current density achieves 10 mA cm−2 and 40 mA cm−2, the required overpotentials for ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalyst are 174 mV and 226 mV, respectively, which are much lower than those of binary Co–B/g-C3N4 catalyst (261 mV and 327 mV). Furthermore, the stability test indicates that ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalyst possesses a favorable long-term electrochemical stability under alkaline condition. The satisfactory electrocatalytic performances of as-prepared ternary Co–B–P/g-C3N4 catalyst suggest that it is a promising candidate to substitute noble-metal based catalysts for HER.