A chelate-assisted assembly to synthesize CoP nanoparticles incorporated ordered mesoporous carbon for hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst

Abstract

Ordered mesoporous carbon doped with CoP nanoparticles (NP) was obtained through chelation assisted assembly using F-127 template, and clear ordered mesoporous carbon was obtained through appropriate heat treatment procedures. With the help of acetylacetone, F-127 acts as a structural directing agent and interacts with phenolic resin coordinated with cobalt ions. The result of the carbonization process is that with the addition of diammonium dihydrogen phosphate, most cobalt species are transferred to CoP. However, some cobalt species are oxidized to cobalt oxide. These oxides are etched by HCl solution, resulting in the formation of larger mesopores. Due to the excellent electrocatalytic performance of the received electrocatalysts, including low overpotential active sites, low slope on the Tafel plot, and high stability, they are attractive for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).