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Platinum (Pt)‐based compounds are the benchmarked catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) but exhibit slow kinetics in alkaline environments. The *OH accumulation on Pt surface can block active sites, affecting proton reduction and water re‐adsorption. Alloying Ruthenium (Ru) with Pt sites can significantly modulate the adsorption and desorption of water dissociation intermediates. Choosing suitable supports and utilizing metal‐support interaction (MSI) is crucial for active site optimization. PtRu alloy anchored on tungsten oxide (WO3) with rich oxygen vacancies (OV) is prepared through an ultrafast microwave‐assisted approach. Benefiting from the coupling effects between alloying and MSI, PtRu/WO3‐OV exhibits exceptionally high HER activity. In 1 m KOH, 1 m KOH + seawater, and 0.5 m H2SO4, it requires ultralow overpotentials of 9, 26, and 6 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The designed catalyst surpasses commercial Pt/C in mass activity and demonstrates considerable potential for intermittent energy integration. Density functional theory reveals that alloying Ru with Pt sites significantly reduces the energy barrier of dissociating *OH, modulating blockage on the surface and then promoting the overall alkaline HER process. This study offers insights into the rapid synthesis of non‐carbon supported catalysts with Pt site modulation for alkaline hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

It is a great challenge to induce the formation of the RuP4 phase and realize the construction of a metal‐rich phase/phosphorus‐rich phase‐ruthenium phosphide heterostructure by directional regulation of the proportion of P and metal atoms. The ultra‐high conductivity of Ru2P and the excellent ability of V‐doped RuP4 to absorb/desorb H* are confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which laid a theoretical foundation for the construction of a unique Ru2P/V‐RuP4 structure to accelerate HER reaction kinetics. This work innovatively uses the V‐doping strategy to induce the formation of RuP4 phase with high intrinsic activity, and finally construct V‐RuxPy nanosheets with rich Ru/Ru2P/V‐RuP4 heterostructures. Thanks to the rich Ru/Ru2P/V‐RuP4 heterostructure and the optimization of V dopants, the V‐RuxPy catalyst only needs 180 mV to obtain an industrial‐grade current density of 1 A cm−2. In summary, this work provides a new idea for the design and performance optimization of ruthenium‐based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Currently, the construction of heterostructures to optimize electrocatalytic activities is a hot research topic, since there is still a certain gap between the electrocatalytic properties of these heterostructures and that of Pt/C. With this in mind, we utilized in‐situ vapor‐phase phosphorization‐sulfurization to obtain the CoP3/MoS2−Co0.75Mo3S3.75 (CoP/CoMoS, for short) heterostructure on carbon cloth (CC), which exhibits Pt‐like electrocatalytic performance and excellent stability in acid electrolyte. Activated by CoP3 active phase, the electronic configuration of CoMoS and the adsorption energy of H* (▵GH*) are greatly optimized. Meanwhile, the rapid oxidation of CoMoS phase can be effectively avoided under the protection of CoP3 layer. This work provides a reference for the design of heterostructures and their mechanism of action in electrocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Rational construction of high‐efficiency and low‐cost catalysts is one of the most promising ways to produce hydrogen but remains a huge challenge. Herein, interface engineering and heteroatom doping were used to synthesize V‐doped sulfide/phosphide heterostructures on nickel foam (V‐Ni3S2/NixPy/NF) by phosphating treatment at low temperature. The incorporation of V can adjust the electronic structure of Ni3S2, expose more active sites, and protect the 3D structure of Ni foam from damage. Meanwhile, the heterogeneous interface formed between Ni3S2 and NixPy can provide abundant active sites and accelerate electron transfer. As a result, the V‐Ni3S2/NixPy/NF nanosheet catalyst exhibits outstanding activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with an extremely low overpotential of 90 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and stable durability in alkaline solution, which exceeds those most of the previously reported Ni‐based materials. This work shows that rational design by interfacial engineering and metal‐atom incorporation has a significant influence for efficient hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The investigation and development of bimetallic phosphosulphide electrocatalyst with low cost and abundant reserves is extremely significant for the improvement of the efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), while it remains a challenge. Herein, we explored a feasible method to prepare three-dimensional (3D) self-supported FeNiP-S/NF-5 nanosheet arrays on Ni foil (NF) by hydrothermal method and in situ phosphorization and following sulfurization treatment. The as-obtained FeNiP-S/NF-5 only needs a potential of 183 mV vs. RHE to reach 20 mA cm−2, which is smaller than that of FeNiP/NF (187 mV vs. RHE) and FeNiS/NF-5 (239 mV vs. RHE), presenting excellent electrocatalytic stability. Such outstanding performance of the FeNiP-S/NF-5 can be attributed to following several reasons: (i) bi-metallic phosphide and sulphide have the high intrinsic activity because of its synergistic effect; (ii) the 3D nanosheet arrays structure of FeNiP-S/NF-5 is conducive to expose plentiful active sites and facilitate the electrolyte penetration along with electron transportation; (iii) the sulfurization process followed phosphorization treatment could further optimize their electronic structure and inhibited the surface oxidation of catalyst in the catalytic process. Image 1 • NiS modified FeNiP nanosheet electrocatalyst have been synthesized. • The best condition of sulfurization treatment has also been investigated. • The 3D structure and the introduction of NiS can boost activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

• A capture & ions exchange strategy is used to construct Ru@HMCS/Ru-CoP with rich Ru form. • Ru nanoparticles and Ru dopants synergistically optimize the alkaline HER kinetics. • The unique core–shell structure enhances the conductivity and structural stability. • The η 10 value of Ru@HMCS/Ru-CoP is 2.9 mV, which is 48.8 mV lower than Pt/C. It is challenging to synchronously introduce Ru nanoparticles with strong H* adsorption ability and Ru dopants with excellent electronic regulation to improve hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. With these in mind, this work creatively adopts the capture&ions exchange strategy to construct the Ru@HMCS/Ru-CoP catalyst with the Ru nanoparticles-coated hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (HMCS) shell and the Ru-doped CoP core. Notably, Ru nanoparticles and Ru dopants synergistically promote the optimization of HER kinetics. Moreover, the unique core–shell structure effectively increases the active area, conductivity, and structural stability of Ru@HMCS/Ru-CoP. As expected, the η 10 value of Ru@HMCS/Ru-CoP catalyst (2.9 mV) is 48.8 mV lower than that of Pt/C (51.7 mV). In summary, this work greatly improves the utilization of noble metal atoms and points out the direction for the development of electrocatalysts with low-load noble metal content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Transition metal phosphides are very attractive because of the remarkable performance in energy storage and conversion. Herein, a series of bimetallic phosphides are synthesized through a one-step solid-state reaction. The obtained bimetallic phosphides show outstanding properties as supercapacitor electrode materials. Results show that the incorporation of secondary metal into phosphides tunes composition, electronic structure and then the electrochemical performance. And electrochemical properties are closely associated with the secondary metal content. Notably, the obtained NiCoP shows the best performance with 2011 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. And an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) based on NiCoP shows energy density of 47.6 W h kg−1, along with 90.5% of capacitance maintained after 10000 cycles. In addition, the NiCoP also possesses great performance toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which displays the lowest potential of 0.221 V vs. RHE and 0.173 V vs. RHE at 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 as well as 1.0 M KOH, respectively. The excellent properties may result from the enhanced electrical conductivity, synergistic effects among metal elements and the increased local electrical dipole. The regulation of electronic structure through introduction of secondary metal atom sheds considerable light on realization and preparation of the bimetallic transition metal compounds as electrode materials. • Electronic structure is related to the secondary metal content. • NiCoP shows outstanding performance with 2011 and 1461 F g−1 at 1 and 10 A g−1. • Excellent property is due to increased local electrical dipole and conductivity. • NiCoP holds promise as outstanding electrode material in asymmetric supercapacitor. • NiCoP shows excellent electrocatalytic performance toward HER in both acidic and alkaline solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The introduction of metal atom or heteroatom into transition metal phosphide is an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical activity for hydrogen evolution reaction, while the controllable synthesis and purposeful design of efficient and stable transition metal phosphide based electrocatalyst with typical structural morphology is still a big challenge. Here, we investigated the relationship among the variety of the doped metal element (Fe and Mn), the corresponding morphology and electrocatalytic performance of the obtained sample for hydrogen evolution reaction. We found that with the doping of Fe and Mn, the cylinder-like CoP has transformed into microflower-like CoP-FeP and rambutan-like CoP-MnP, respectively. Meanwhile, the obtained CoP-FeP exhibits the excellent electrocatalytic activity hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over a wide pH range (0–14), followed by CoP-MnP and CoP, resulting from the typical nanostructure and the moderately optimized electronic structure of P and Co center. Image 1 • CoP-MP (M = Fe, Mn) nanomaterials with different morphology have been controlled synthesized. • CoP-FeP shows excellent electrochemical performance for HER over a wide pH range (0–14). • The introduction of Fe or Mn element could optimized electronic structure of Co centers and P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Abstract Stable, earth-abundant and efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting are urgently needed. In this work, we have reported the synthesis of FeNiP/NC hollow microboxes (FeNiP/NC) based bifunctional electrocatalyst via the phosphorization process using rationally designed cube-type metal-organic framework (FeNi-MOF) as both the template and carbon source. The FeNiP/NC, which were obtained by assembling the uniform FeNiP nanoparticals together through N-doped carbon, manifests outstanding catalytic performances for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in KOH solution. Notably, FeNiP/NC displays exceptional activity when it was utilized as both anode and cathode toward overall water splitting with potential of 1.54 V at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline electrolyte, which is much better than FeP/NC and Ni 2 P/NC electrocatalyst. More importantly, the improvement of the catalytic activities of FeNiP/NC mainly benefits from the well dispersion of FeNiP nanoparticles on the surface of carbon support, the large active surface area and the doping of N and C derived from organic ligands. In addition, the enhanced electrocatalytic performance of FeNiP/NC for OER is closely related with the in-situ formed surficial MOOH (M = Fe, Ni) active sites, which has been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Uniform FeNiP nanoparticles assembled together through N-doped carbon based hollow microboxs have been synthesized. • FeNiP/NC was obtained using FeNi-MOF as precursor. • Hollow FeNiP/NC is a bifunctional electrocatalyst for HER and OER in alkaline media. • The MOOH (M = Fe, Ni) with high activity for OER have in-situ formed on the surface of FeNiP/NC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

It is impending but still a big challenge to design and synthesize electrocatalyst with typical nanostructure and efficient catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report a low-temperature phosphorization process to synthesize nickel-iron bimetallic phosphides (NiFeP) using MIL-88-Fe 2 Ni MOF (metal-organic framework) as precursor. The as-synthesized NiFeP shows superior electrocatalytic performance with lower onset overpotential, smaller Tafel slope, bigger exchange current density and lower overpotential to reach the current density of 10 mA cm −2 than both NiP 2 and FeP for HER in alkaline solution. The enhanced electrochemical activity may be attributed to the existence of the synergistic effect between NiP 2 and FeP. SEM and TEM images show that the obtained NiFeP bimetallic phosphides preserve the size and morphology of the parent MIL-88-Fe 2 Ni MOF. And the prominent and stable performance of NiFeP nanorods for HER may also ascribes to the typical rod-like nanostructure with large specific surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2) exhibits the modest properties toward hydrogen evolution due to its poor electrical conductivity and a limited number of active sites. To make up for the defects in MoS 2 , we built hierarchical P-doped MoS 2 /NiS 2 @carbon hollow nanospheres (P–MoS/NiS@CHNS) electrocatalyst via one-step hydrothermal method owning to the priority of the reaction between Ni2+ and H 2 S. Motivated by high-efficient electron transfer at the interface of heterostructure and the activation of MoS 2 by P dopant, P–MoS/NiS@CHNS exhibits optimal Gibbs free energies (ΔG H∗) and superior HER performance with low overpotential (ƞ 10) of 110 ​mV ​at 10 ​mA ​cm−2 and small Tafel slope of 61 ​mV dec−1. The focus of this work is to optimize the HER performance of MoS 2 through P-doping and heterostructure construction, which can further provide a reference for the design of MoS 2 based catalysts. Image 1 • The P–MoS 2 /NiS 2 heterostructure is in favor of expeditious electrons transfer. • Thanks to the priority of the reaction between Ni2+ and H 2 S, the heterostructure was constructed. • The introduction of P optimizes the electron configuration of MoS 2. • The well-designed P–MoS/NiS@CHNS electrocatalyst has the optimal ΔG H∗ and E a value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

[Display omitted] • a/c-RuCo NWs/NF was constructed by cleverly controlling the corrosion time. • Ruδ+-Ru0 dual-active sites mechanism accelerates alkaline HER kinetics. • a/c-Co 0.8 Ru 0.2 /RuCoOx heterostructure accelerates the mass transfer process. • Co 0.8 Ru 0.2 alloy optimizes the d-band centers and the adsorption of intermediates. • a/c-RuCo NWs/NF exhibits superior UOR and alkaline HER properties surpassing Pt/C. It is challenging to directionally construct the amorphous/crystalline (a/c)-alloy/oxide heterostructures with exceptional bifunctional electrocatalytic performances via a facile method. With these in mind, the a/c-RuCo NWs/NF electrode with the unique hollow structure and a/c-Co 0.8 Ru 0.2 /RuCoOx heterostructure was constructed by cleverly controlling the corrosion time. As expected, the well-designed a/c-RuCo NWs/NF||a/c-RuCo NWs/NF only needs 1.46 V to reach an industrial-grade current density of 1 A cm−2, outperforming other advanced electrodes. Strikingly, density functional theory (DFT) and in-situ Raman reveal that the Ruδ+-Ru0 dual-sites and Coδ+ at the a/c-Co 0.8 Ru 0.2 /RuCoOx heterointerface act as active species for alkaline HER and UOR, synergistically promoting urea-assisted water splitting. Surprisingly, the unique Co 0.8 Ru 0.2 alloy exhibits the potential to surpass the pure Ru metal in optimizing d-band centers and the adsorption of reaction intermediates. Overall, the a/c-alloy/oxide bifunctional electrode with Ruδ+-Ru0-Coδ+ multi-active sites was constructed by one-step corrosion, providing a new idea for designing efficient a/c-alloy/oxide electrodes and realizing industrial urea-assisted water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

In this work, nickel cobalt bimetallic sulfide with typical multi-shell hollow sphere structure behaved superior electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which have been prepared through a easy method included solvothermal step, calcination step and in-situ sulfurization step. The composition and structure of the obtained nickel cobalt bimetallic sulfide are controlled through adjusting the sulfurization temperature and dosage of sulfur source. The as-prepared Ni–Co-S multi-shell hollow microspheres (abbreviated as Ni-Co-S) behaves superb HER properties in alkaline medium and Ni-Co-S-340(60) performs the most superior property, in which reflected the lowest overpotential (129 mV vs. RHE) at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and the smallest Tafel slope (96.1 mV dec−1) among all the synthesized samples. The superior electrocatalytic performance of the obtained Ni-Co-S-340(60) for HER is owing to the unique multi-shell hollow structure derived from the intrinsic porous character of Ni-Co-BTC MOF precursor in one hand. And in the other hand, introducing highly active NiCo 2 S 4 into NiS 2 would enhance its elctrocatalytic activity because of the strong interfacial effect between NiS 2 and NiCo 2 S 4. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Transition metal nitrides (TMNs) have attracted great attention as ideal active materials in the field of electrocatalysts in recent years due to their excellent electrical conductivity, wide band gap and adjustable morphology. Pure phase Co 4 N nanoparticles encapsulated nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) nanotubes (Co 4 N@NC) were in-situ synthesized by one-pot method. In this paper, the morphology of carbon nanotubes is controlled by adjusting the pyrolysis time, so that more active sites are exposed on carbon nanotubes. Thus, the cobalt nitride catalyst with excellent catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic electrolyte was obtained. In summary, due to the protection of mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon to Co 4 N nanoparticles, large electrochemically active surface area, good conductivity and more exposed active sites, Co 4 N@NC possesses excellent HER performance in acidic electrolytes. The overpotential of Co 4 N@NC at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 is 117 mV (η 10), and it shows long-term stability in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution for 50 h. This study provides a strategy for the development of catalysts for the controllable synthesis of high-performance transition metal nitrides. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Developing efficient, stable and ideal urea oxide (UOR) electrocatalyst is key to produce green hydrogen in an economical way. Herein, Ru doped three dimensional (3D) porous Ni 3 N spheres, with tannic acid (TA) and urea as the carbon and nitrogen resources, is synthesized via hydrothermal and low-temperature treated process (Ru–Ni 3 N@NC). The porous nanostructure of Ni 3 N and the nickel foam provide abundant active sites and channel during catalytic process. Moreover, Ru doping and rich defects favor to boost the reaction kinetics by optimizing the adsorption/desorption or dissociation of intermediates and reactants. The above advantages enable Ru–Ni 3 N@NC to have good bifunctional catalytic performance in alkaline media. Only 43 and 270 mV overpotentials are required for hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions to drive a current of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, it also showed good electrocatalytic performance in neutral and alkaline seawater electrolytes for HER with 134 mV to drive 10 mA cm−2 and 83 mV to drive 100 mA cm−2, respectively. Remarkably, the as-designed Ru–Ni 3 N@NC also owns extraordinary catalytic activity and stability toward UOR. Moreover, using the synthesized Ru–Ni 3 N@NC nanomaterial as the anode and cathode of urea assisted water decomposition, a small potential of 1.41 V was required to reach 10 mA cm−2. It can also be powered by sustainable energy sources such as wind, solar and thermal energies. In order to make better use of the earth's abundant resources, this work provides a new way to develop multi-functional green electrocatalysts. [Display omitted] • The synthesized electrocatalyst exhibits porous specific sphere morphology to exposed abundant active sites. • The prepared electrocatalyst presents excellent electrocatalytic performances toward HER, OER and UOR. • Small overpotential is required to drive overall water-splitting under the urea assistance with remarkable stability. • Sustainable energies are investigated to power the electrolyzer for hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

[Display omitted] Ultrafast (60 s) microwave quasi-solid approach is applied to design phosphorous-doped black TiO 2 supported Ru (Ru/P-TiO 2). The modulation d-band center of Ru endows the prepared catalyst with exceptional HER performance in alkaline freshwater/seawater electrolytes. • Ru/P-TiO 2 is constructed through ultrafast (60 s) quasi-solid microwave approach. • The strong metal-support electronic interaction optimize the reaction kinetics. • Optimal d-band center black Ru/P-TiO 2 exhibits efficient HER performance. Metal oxide has been considered as promising support to regulate the active microenvironment of noble metals to promote the catalytic performance, but they suffer from unsatisfactory electrical resistance and poor stability. Herein, ultrafast quasi-solid microwave (60 s) is employed to achieve phosphorous-doped black TiO 2 supported Ru (Ru/P-TiO 2) with d-band center modulation to optimize the reaction kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The as-synthesized Ru/P-TiO 2 exhibits extraordinary HER activities in alkaline fresehwater/seawater electrolytes with overpotential of 43 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2 coupled with satisfactory stability. Experiment and density functional theory (DFT) calculation clarify that the achieved Ru/P-TiO 2 owns optimal d-band center for H* adsorption. Moreover, the phosphorous doping enhanced the electronic interactions between Ru and oxygen vacancy-enriched TiO 2 to optimize the reaction kinetics and enhance the stability. This work provides promising strategy to modulate the metal oxide matrix for designing novel catalysts on energy conversion and storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Using low cost and high efficiency non-precious bimetallic phosphosulphide as electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is not only convenient but also environment-friendly for industrial production. Therefore, we propose a simple and efficient method to prepare a series of Cu-doped bimetallic phosphosulphide nanosheet arrays on nickel foam (CuNiS@Ni 2 P/NF). The CuNiS@Ni 2 P/NF exhibits the superior HER performance with appropriate doping amount of Cu. It just needs a potential of 144 mV to obtain the current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH, which is smaller than that of CuNiS@Ni 2 P/NF-0.25 (206 mV) and CuNiS@Ni 2 P/NF-0.125 (219 mV). The excellent HER performance of CuNiS@Ni 2 P/NF nanosheet arrays can be ascribed to: (i) the moderate Cu-doped effectively optimized the electronic structure and morphology of the electrocatalyst; (ii) typical nanosheet arrays structures exposing more active sites; (iii) the high immanent activity excited by the multi-component synergy. • Cu-doped bimetallic phosphosulphide nanosheet arrays on Ni foam has been prepared. • The moderate amount of Cu doping could optimize the electronic structure of the product. • The typical structure and multi-component synergy contribute to the enhanced performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

• The RuP 4 @CoP/Ti electrocatalyst with acacia-like structure was obtained using a facile method. • The incorporation of Ru can accelerate the charge transfer between Ru, Co, and P. • The RuP 4 @CoP/Ti possesses super activity under either acidic or alkaline solution. • The existence of Ti foil could enhance the electrical conductivity and disperse the active phases. The transition metal phosphate with lower price and rich abundance have a tendency to replace Pt-based catalytic materials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nevertheless, for transition metal phosphate based electrocatalyst, the further improvement of the electrocatalytic performance and the deep exploration of the regulation and control mechanism are still bottleneck problems. At present, we use a novel method to prepare the Ti foil supported the CoP acacia-like arrays decorated with RuP 4 nanoparticles composite (RuP 4 @CoP/Ti). The obtained RuP 4 @CoP/Ti possesses excellent electrocatalytic performance, which needs the overpotential of 66.2 mV to reach the current of density of 10 mA cm−2 and has the Tafel slope of 52.6 mV dec−1 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4. In addition, it requires the overpotential of 36 mV to reach the current of density of 10 mA cm−2 and has Tafel slope of 54.8 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH. Moreover, the obtained RuP 4 @CoP/Ti also presents outstanding long-term durability under either acidic or alkaline condition. The reason for such excellent properties is due to the unique acacia-like structure, the synergistic effect between CoP and RuP 4 , the existence of Ti foil and the introduction of Ru, which can optimize the electronic structure of Co and P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

• NiCo-LDH decorated NiCoS nanorods with hierarchical structure has been prepared. • The moderate amount of NiCo-LDH by electrodeposition could enhance the activity. • The synergistic effect of the composite contribute to the enhanced performance. As the key step in the overall water splitting system, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has become one of the main methods of hydrogen production in industrial applications. Here, through the strong coupling between NiCo-LDH nanosheets and NiCoS nanorods, the three-dimensional heterogeneous structure formed by the composite can provide a large catalytic specific surface area. The modification of LDH lamellar will provide abundant edge active sites and enhance its structural stability. The synergistic effect of NiCo-LDH and NiCoS can optimize the electronic structure and promote mass transfer and water cracking. Benefiting from the above points, the NiCoS@NiCo-LDH/NF obtained showed the significant boost in HER process. It only required 99 mV to reach current density of 10 mA·cm−2 and maintained excellent durability for 24 h for HER, which proved NiCoS@NiCo-LDH/NF was a cost-free, high-efficient and outstandingly stable HER catalyst in basic solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The development of phosphide-based electrocatalyst with excellent properties and good stability under both acidic and alkaline condition is the hotspot of recent research. Herein, we synthesized N doped CoP coated with carbon nanotubes (CoP@NC) electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), in which, the ZIF-67 (ZIF = zeolite imidazole skeleton) nanoparticles wrapped Co-MOF (MOF = metal-organic skeleton) nanorods has been used as precursor. The improvement of catalytic performance of N-doped CoP can be attributed to the fact that the introduction of N can optimize the electronic structure and the in-situ grown carbon nanotubes can improve charge transfer rate and avoid the agglomeration of active units. In addition, the effect of phosphorization temperature and the amount of carbon nanotube on the electrochemical activity of the samples were also investigated, and the obtained CoP@NCs only required low overpotential of 250 mV and 234 mV to drive the current density of 100 mA cm−2 under acidic and basic conditions, respectively. This work opens up an efficient paradigm for optimizing the performance of electrocatalysts. • N doped CoP coated with carbon nanotubes (CoP@NC) has been synthesized. • The in-situ formed carbon nanotubes could efficiently improve the charge transfer rate. • The use of Co-MOF in the core part could efficiently the accumulation of active phase. • The carbonization atmosphere has an obviously effect on the electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...