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Heterogeneous Bimetallic Phosphide Ni 2 P‐Fe 2 P as an Efficient Bifunctional Catalyst for Water/Seawater Splitting
Author(s) -
Wu Libo,
Yu Luo,
Zhang Fanghao,
McElhenny Brian,
Luo Dan,
Karim Alamgir,
Chen Shuo,
Ren Zhifeng
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202006484
Subject(s) - bifunctional , electrocatalyst , phosphide , seawater , electrolysis , catalysis , materials science , water splitting , bimetallic strip , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , electrolysis of water , electrochemistry , metal , metallurgy , electrode , chemistry , electrolyte , organic chemistry , engineering , geology , oceanography , photocatalysis
Developing high‐performance and cost‐effective bifunctional electrocatalysts for large‐scale water electrolysis is desirable but remains a significant challenge. Most existing nano‐ and micro‐structured electrocatalysts require complex synthetic procedures, making scale‐up highly challenging. Here, a heterogeneous Ni 2 P‐Fe 2 P microsheet is synthesized by directly soaking Ni foam in hydrochloric acid and an iron nitrate solution, followed by phosphidation. Benefiting from high intrinsic activity, abundant active sites, and a superior transfer coefficient, this self‐supported Ni 2 P‐Fe 2 P electrocatalyst shows superb catalytic activity toward overall water splitting, requiring low voltages of 1.682 and 1.865 V to attain current densities of 100 and 500 mA cm −2 in 1 m KOH, respectively. Such catalytic performance is superior to the benchmark IrO 2 || Pt/C pair and also places this electrocatalyst among the best bifunctional catalysts reported thus far. Furthermore, its enhanced corrosion resistance and hydrophilic surface make it suitable for seawater splitting. It is able to achieve current densities of 100 and 500 mA cm −2 in 1 m KOH seawater at voltages of 1.811 and 2.004 V, respectively, which, together with its robust durability, demonstrates its great potential for realistic seawater electrolysis. This work presents a general and economic approach toward the fabrication of heterogeneous metallic phosphide catalysts for water/seawater electrocatalysis.