A Complementary Co-Ni Phosphide/Bimetallic Alloy-Interspersed N-Doped Graphene Electrocatalyst for Overall Alkaline Water Splitting.

ABSTRACT

Echinops-like bimetallic CoNiP-CoNi alloy is synthesized from a metal-organic framework (MOF) and serves as an efficient catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with a low overpotential of 300 mV in 1 M KOH at 10 mA cm-2 (η10 ). The cooperative effect of Ni and Co metal, as well as the interfacial properties of the integrated semiconducting phosphide/metallic alloy and electronic conductivity of the MOF-derived carbon regulate the performance of the catalyst. Moreover, the bimetallic CoNiP/CoNi alloy catalyst is interspersed with N-doped graphene, forming a triad catalyst that demonstrates superior activity towards the hydrogen evolution reaction (η10 =150 mV) and excellent durability, owing to interfacial effects of the triad catalyst, large electrochemical active surface area, and enhanced conductivity from N-doped graphene. The stability of the carbon-containing catalyst during OER (oxidation) is altered by the high reactivity of heteroatom dopant. The assembled CoNiP/CoNi/N-RGO||CoNiP/CoNi water electrolyzer delivers a reasonable cell potential of 1.76 V at 10 mA cm-2 . The synthesized bimetallic CoNiP/CoNi alloy-based triad catalyst thus demonstrates excellent electrocatalytic activity and high durability suitable for efficient alkaline water splitting.