Se-Incorporated Porous Carbon/Ni₅P₄ Nanostructures for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction with Waste Heat Management

To address the need for renewable-energy technology for the growing population, environmentally benign hydrogen fuel generation via water splitting has become a game-changer that can replace fossil fuels. Herein, we report superhydrophilic selenium-anchored nickel phosphide (Ni5P4) on the surface of a low-cost, highly porous melamine foam-graphene-carbon nanotube matrix via the facile solvothermal method. The developed electrocatalyst renders superior electrocatalytic performance with long-term durability for minimum 10 days at a high current density of 300 mA/cm2 with a small deviation of 2%, allowing the commercialization of the catalyst toward industrial-grade application. The electrocatalytic performance is analyzed in terms of a low overpotential of 130 mV@10 mA/cm2 with a small Tafel slope of 98 mV/dec. Moreover, the as-designed catalyst has shown a remarkable performance in the smart utilization of waste heat into green fuel production. This work provides an insight into adopting a feasible strategy to develop a low-cost efficient electrocatalyst capable enough for the facile management of waste heat that could be an attractive paradigm of green fuel synthesis via renewable electrochemical energy conversion.