Amorphous FeOx (x = 1, 1.5) coated Cu3P nanosheets with bamboo leaves-like morphology induced by solvent molecule adsorption for highly active HER catalysts

Abstract

Searching for an efficient HER catalyst in alkaline media still faces big challenges due to the sluggish water splitting kinetics as well as the hindrance of the hydrogen adsorption–desorption process. Based on this, herein, we fabricated a bamboo leaves-like amorphous FeO_x (x = 1, 1.5) coated Cu₃P with outstanding HER performance in alkaline media for the first time. FeO_x·H₂O was synthesized by the reducibility of glycol and the oxidability of soluble O₂, and the bamboo leaves-like structure was induced by solvent molecule selective adsorption simultaneously. The binder-free FeO_x coated Cu₃P@Cu was fabricated as the catalyst for HER in 1 M KOH, which demonstrated a quite low overpotential of 48 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and was even better than that of Pt/C catalyst at a large current density. This work provided a strategy to fabricate a high-performance copper-based HER electro-catalyst.