Wire-on-flake heterostructured ternary Co0.5Ni0.5P/CC: an efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst

Abstract

Although a cost effective and high performance hydrogen evolution catalyst is urgently needed, its synthesis is still challenging. Herein, we report a novel wire-on-flake heterostructured ternary Co_0.5Ni_0.5P electrocatalyst grown on carbon cloth (CC) through a hydrothermal reaction and a low-temperature phosphorization process which exhibits satisfactory results for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media, producing cathodic current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm⁻² at overpotentials of 47 and 96 mV, respectively, and a Tafel slope as small as 34.1 mV dec⁻¹. On the other hand, a long-time durability test of the electrocatalyst shows its promising prospect for practical applications. Such an excellent HER activity may stem from the wire-on-flake heterostructure and the synergistic effect between cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni) atoms.