Highly efficient and stable MoP-RGO nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

Electrochemical splitting of water to obtain hydrogen plays a vital role in high energy density devices, especially for fuel cells. In this work, reduced graphene oxide supported molybdenum phosphide nanoparticles (MoP-RGO) were prepared via a facile solvothermal reaction followed by high-temperature phosphating treatment. The electrochemical measurement results indicate that the MoP-RGO nanocomposite obtained at 900 °C exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotentials of 117 mV and 150 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in acid and alkaline media, respectively. Furthermore, the instability of the catalyst in basic medium was systemically investigated. This work provides a facile strategy for the synthesis of cost-effective carbon supported metal phosphide as HER electrocatalyst.