Microwave-assisted synthesis Co-doped Fe3P/N-doped carbon with highly modulated electron structure and excellent electrocatalytic activity for acidic water splitting

Abstract

With the increasing global interest in renewable energy, hydrogen production through water electrolysis has emerged as a promising method for clean energy generation. However, the efficiency of water splitting, particularly in acidic conditions, is limited by the need for high-performance electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, Co-doped Fe₃P/N-doped carbon composites have been prepared fast by microwave assistance with enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. The doping of Co facilitated the transfer of electrons from Fe to Co, modified the electronic structure of metal active sites, thereby enhancing catalyst performance. The optimized Co_0.2Fe_0.8P_x@NC catalyst exhibited superior HER and OER activity, with low overpotentials (91 and 251 mV for HER and OER, respectively) and Tafel slopes (60.3 and 55.3 mV/dec for HER and OER, respectively), and demonstrated excellent stability. In addition, the catalyst showed competitive performance in a two-electrode system for overall water splitting, achieving a high current density at low voltage. The novelty of this research lies in the integration of metal phosphides and nitrogen-doped carbon, providing an efficient and cost-effective approach to bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting applications with high performance and durability.