Issue 18, 2023

Universal synthesis of rare earth-doped FeP nanorod arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

A universal plasma-assisted strategy is proposed for the fabrication of rare earth (RE)-doped FeP nanorod arrays (RE-FeP) as a kind of potential electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The energetic Ar plasma can induce the vacancy-enriched feature of the Fe-precursor, which assists in the anchoring of RE ions. As a typical model, Sm-FeP affords a low overpotential of 71 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for the HER, which is 63 mV smaller than that of FeP and superior to most reported Fe-based catalysts. The robust long-term stability of Sm-FeP is also demonstrated. Furthermore, the as-assembled Sm-FeP‖RuO2 water-splitting electrolyzer also displays a low cell voltage of 1.59 V at 10 mA cm−2. Sm-induced electronic configuration modulation at the Fe site mainly contributes to the improved HER performance of Sm-FeP relative to FeP. The combination between the Sm site and *OH produces labile O 2p states below the Fermi level, thus weakening the co-adsorption of *OH and *H derived from the splitting of H2O for the facilitated formation of *H. Moreover, the other RE-FeP catalysts (e.g., Yb, Eu, La, and Er) extended by such a plasma-induced strategy also exhibit various improved degrees in the HER, implying that RE-FeP is a promising class of electrocatalyst towards the HER.

Graphical abstract: Universal synthesis of rare earth-doped FeP nanorod arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
05 maj 2023
Accepted
06 jul 2023
First published
06 jul 2023

Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 4132-4141

Universal synthesis of rare earth-doped FeP nanorod arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction

M. Chen, Z. Lin, Y. Ren, X. Wang, M. Li, D. Sun, Y. Tang and G. Fu, Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 4132 DOI: 10.1039/D3QM00516J

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