N-Doped carbon-coated Co2P-supported Au nanocomposite as the anode catalyst for borohydride electrooxidation

Abstract

An N-doped carbon-coated Co₂P-supported Au nanocomposite (Au/Co₂P@NC/C) was synthesized via a facile pyrolysis procedure. The morphology and crystal structure of the Au/Co₂P@NC/C catalyst were tested by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the electrocatalytic performances of Au/Co₂P@NC/C for borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR) were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), chronopotentiometry (CP), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and rotating disc electrode (RDE) voltammetry. Among the as-prepared Au/Co₂P@NC/C catalysts, Au₍₅₀₎Co₂P@NC₍₅₀₎/C exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity for BOR. The BOR current density at −0.1 V on the Au₍₅₀₎Co₂P@NC₍₅₀₎/C electrode was 48.4 mA cm⁻², which is much higher than that on the Au/C electrode (24.8 mA cm⁻²).