One-pot synthesis of NiCoP/CNTs composites for lithium ion batteries and hydrogen evolution reaction

Transition metal phosphides have tremendous potential in the fields of eletrocatalysis and energy storage due to their excellent conductivity and high theoretical specific capacity. In this work, we prepared the composites of NiCoP and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by one-pot method, and their lithium storage and electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance were studied. The experimental results indicated that as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), the specific capacity of NiCoP/CNTs composites reaches 200 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g−1. The one-pot method can disperse CNTs inside and between the particles of the NiCoP, which can effectively promote the conductivity of the composites and increase the activity of internal materials. In addition, NiCoP/CNTs also showed good electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in acidic electrolyte. When the current density was 10 mA cm−2, the overpotential was 267 mV and the Tafel slope was 87.54 mV dec−1. Compared with pure NiCoP, the good electrochemical performance of NiCoP/CNTs results from the close contact between CNTs and NiCoP, which increases the conductivity and active area of the material. Therefore, the one-pot method for preparing CNTs composites can be used to enhance the electrochemical properties of inorganic nanomaterials. It provides a feasible solution for the modification of electrode materials.