Vanadium doped cobalt phosphide nanorods array as a bifunctional electrode catalyst for efficient and stable overall water splitting

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2021-01, Vol.46 (1), p.599-608
• Main Authors: Du, Xiangheng, Fang, Yini, Guan, Jibiao, Li, Shanshan, Wang, Lina, Zhang, Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active site; Alkaline electrolyte; Lattice distortions and defects; Overall water splitting; V-doping
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.09.242

For the sake of sustainable development, water splitting without other pollutants has been a candidate technology in green energy. Due to the low efficiency of water splitting, innovative breakthroughs are desirable to improve efficiency significantly. Nowadays, the rational design of non-precious metal-based robust bifunctional catalysts is considered to be a feasible way to promote both the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we proposed a vanadium doped CoP nanorods array catalyst grown on carbon cloth (V–CoP NRs/CC) as a bifunctional electrode material. When V–CoP NRs/CC employed as both anode and cathode materials, it only demands low cell voltages of 1.491 V and 1.606 V to drive a current density of 10 mA cm−2 (j10) and 50 mA cm−2 (j50) in 1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte. Especially, V–CoP NRs/CC can maintain its outstanding electrocatalytic performance for more than 40 h at j50 in overall water splitting. In this work, we successfully prepared a vanadium doped cobalt phosphide (V–CoP NRs/CC) nanorods array as a bifunctional electrode catalytic material for the efficient and stable overall water splitting. The V–CoP NRs/CC has a nanorods array structure with numerous lattice defects and distortions, which demands a law cell voltage of 1.491 and 1.606 V to deliver j10 and j50 current density in 1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte. In this work, the synthesized V–CoP NRs/CC not only has outstanding catalytic performance but also has 40 h long-term stability of at j50 current density. [Display omitted] •V–CoP NRs/CC was prepared via hydrothermal and phosphating process.•It demands 1.491 and 1.606 V to deliver j10 and j50, respectively.•V–CoP NRs/CC possesses strong stability for more than 40 h at j50.•V-doping leads defects and distortions on the material surface.