Porous High-Entropy phosphides with multiple active sites for Synergistically promoting electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

High-entropy phosphides (HEPs) are promising due to their diverse composition, creating multiple active sites that facilitate OER intermediate transfer and weaken scaling relationships, allowing for fine-tuned reaction kinetics. Here, we report the synthesis of porous HEPs with multiple active sites via a metal–organic framework (MOF)-templated method, which exhibit exceptional electrocatalytic activity and stability for OER. The HEPs, composed of Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Zn, and P, feature a unique porous structure with abundant defect sites and a high surface area, providing numerous active sites for electrochemical reactions. The synergistic effects of the multiple metal elements and the phosphorus component enable the HEPs to achieve a remarkably low overpotential of 273 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² in 1 M KOH solution. Mechanism study and experimental characterizations reveal that the HEPs’ excellent performance can be attributed to the accelerated mass transport of porous architecture, enhanced charge transfer from coated carbon layer, and improved adsorption of oxygen intermediates from the multiple active sites. This work demonstrates the potential of HEPs as a new class of electrocatalysts for OER and provides insights into the design of advanced materials for energy-related applications.