Ni2P/Co2P as a highly efficient catalyst for enhancing the electrochemical performance of P-NiMoO4 for oxygen evolution reaction

A growing trend in electrocatalysis is to explore interfacial interactions and surface intermediate adsorption in highly efficient bimetallic phosphide catalysts for developing efficient oxygen evolution reactions (OER). In this work, Ni ₂P and Co ₂ P nanoparticles (NPs) were distributed on P-modified NiMoO ₄ nanorods prepared by the hydrothermal procedure, which exhibited high catalytic activity and outstanding durability for the OER. By regulating the high interfacial contact between Ni ₂P, Co ₂P, and P-NiMoO ₄, the Ni ₂P and Co ₂P NPs reduced the electron density, thus optimizing the OER. Compared to the NiMoO ₄ NRs, the P-NiMoO ₄@Ni ₂P/Co ₂ P electrocatalyst showed remarkable activity towards the OER owing to the strong electron interaction and synergistic effect among the three components. Consequently, the P-NiMoO ₄@Ni ₂P/Co ₂P electrode yielded significant OER activity, with an overpotential of 260 mV, a Tafel slope of 41 mV/dec, and 92.9% Faradaic efficiency. Furthermore, the P-NiMoO ₄@Ni ₂P/Co ₂ P electrocatalyst demonstrated excellent stability (up to 50 h) for the OER, which was higher than those of the NiMoO ₄ -based catalysts reported in the literature. Several factors contribute to the excellent OER activity, including electron transfer between Ni ₂P, Co ₂P, and P-NiMoO ₄, and the abundant active sites generated from their interfacial interactions. Therefore, this study presents a novel approach for developing highly efficient ternary electrocatalysts for the long-term electrocatalytic evolution of oxygen.