Controlled synthesis of P-Co3O4@NiCo-LDH/NF nanoarrays as binder-free electrodes for water splitting.

The design and development of robust and environmentally friendly electrocatalytic materials are of great significance to the hydrogen production industry for the electrolysis of water. A series of P-Co3O4@NiCo-LDH/NF materials was firstly successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method, high temperature calcination and an electrochemical deposition approach when sodium hypophosphite was used as the source of P and Ni(NO3)2·6H2O as the source of nickel and introduced cobalt at the same time. The structure, composition, morphology and electrochemical performance of the P-Co3O4@NiCo-LDH/NF electrocatalytic material were determined by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical performance testing. It is worth noting that the P-Co3O4@NiCo-LDH-2/NF material presents excellent hydrogen evolution reaction performance in 1 M KOH alkaline solution. It only needs an overpotential of 181 mV to drive a current density of 100 mA cm-2, which is one of the best catalytic activities reported so far. The experimental results and theoretical calculations demonstrate that the electrocatalytic activity of the P-Co3O4@NiCo-LDH-2/NF material is attributed to the faster electron transfer rate, exposure of more active sites, optimal water adsorption energy and better electrical conductivity.