A cost-effective 3D hydrogen evolution cathode with high catalytic activity: FeP nanowire array as the active phase.

Iron is the cheapest and one of the most abundant transition metals. Natural [FeFe]-hydrogenases exhibit remarkably high activity in hydrogen evolution, but they suffer from high oxygen sensitivity and difficulty in scale-up. Herein, an FeP nanowire array was developed on Ti plate (FeP NA/Ti) from its β-FeOOH NA/Ti precursor through a low-temperature phosphidation reaction. When applied as self-supported 3D hydrogen evolution cathode, the FeP NA/Ti electrode shows exceptionally high catalytic activity and good durability, and it only requires overpotentials of 55 and 127 mV to afford current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm(2) , respectively. The excellent electrocatalytic performance is promising for applications as non-noble-metal HER catalyst with a high performance-price ratio in electrochemical water splitting for large-scale hydrogen fuel production.