​Study of Fabrication and Properties of NiCoP Nanocrystalline Thin Film Electrodes for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysts​

Hydrogen production from water splitting is considered the most environment-friendly and sustainable method to acquire energy. Alkaline water electrolysis has been widely employed for hydrogen production, but it is still challenging to prepare non-precious metals electrocatalysts to replace the noble-metal-based catalysts. Here we proposed electroless method to prepare a NiCoP nanocrystalline thin flim as efficient electrocatalysts. The morphology and mechanisms of the 45-minute alloy films deposited on Cu substrate were characterized by SEM, XRD, and XPS techniques, moreover, LSV, EIS, and CP were applied to analyze the electrochemical behavior. The nanocrystalline NiCoP_45min alloy exhibits higher hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity than platinum sheet. An overpotential of -98 mV and a Tafel slope of 47.94 mV·dec⁻¹ at 10 mA·cm⁻² was achieved with the catalyst during HER in an alkaline medium. Additionally, its excellent catalytic activity is confirmed by a low Rt value 2.48 Ω. Remarkably, this catalyst also exhibits high HER stability for about 45 h in an alkaline electrolysic solution.

Graphical Abstract