Self-Supported Ferric Phosphide Spherical Clusters as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The development of efficient and low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion techniques is highly desired. Self-Supported ferric phosphide spherical clusters on Ti foil (FeP/Ti) were developed via a low-temperature phosphorization of hydrothermal-synthesized FeOOH/Ti precursors. The FeP/Ti had large specific surface area, high porosity and high conductivity which could provide high catalytic activities. The FeP/Ti electrode showed a good electrocatalytic performance for HER in acidic media with a low onset overpotential of 27 mV, only needed overpotentials of 104 and 218 mV to reach current densities of 10 and 50 mA cm−2, respectively, and had a high exchange current density of 0.46 mA cm−2 as well as good long-term durability, close to the performance of commercial Pt/C catalysts. In addition, the binder-free preparation method for this self-supported HER electrode could be extended to many other fields.