NiFeP nanocubes as advanced electrode material for hydrogen evolution and supercapacitor

Abstract Efficient and cost-effective electrode materials with multifunction are desirably demanded for energy conversion and storage cells. Herein, mixed metal phosphide of NiFeP is synthesized via low-temperature phosphorization method using NiFe Prussian blue analogues nanocubes as precursor. The nanoparticles assembled cubic structure supplies high contact surface area for electrochemical reactions and short path for fast charge transfer. The dual metals provide synergism for catalysis and energy storage, including improved intrinsic activity, increased active sites, and enhanced kinetics. NiFeP demonstrates efficient and stable catalysis activity for hydrogen evolution reaction, achieving low overpotential of 82 mV at 10 mA cm−2. When served as supercapacitor electrode, NiFeP exhibits high specific capacity (537.1 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and good cyclic stability (retaining 91.3% of the initial capacity after 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1). These findings may promote the development of transition metal phosphides based electrode materials for energy conversion and storage.