Ultrafine cobalt molybdenum phosphide nanoparticles embedded in crosslinked nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber as efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting.

As a kind of high-performance and cost-efficient electrocatalyst in water splitting, the transition bimetal phosphides exhibit a promising prospect. Here, the composite of cobalt molybdenum phosphide nanoparticles embedded in crosslinked nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber (CoMoP@CL-NCNF) has been synthesized via an electrospinning process and pyrolysis treatment. As an effective hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst, the CoMoP@CL-NCNF only requires the overpotentials of 81 mV and 219 mV at the current densities of 10 mA cm and 20 mA cm, respectively. Moreover, the water electrolyzer with the CoMoP@CL-NCNF as the cathode and anode catalysts requires a cell voltage of 1.59 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm. The CoMoP@CL-NCNF also achieves the excellent stability up to 24 h for HER, OER and overall water spitting in 1.0 M KOH. The excellent catalytic activity of the CoMoP@CL-NCNF is benefits from the synergistic effect between components and the crosslinked structure of carbon nanofiber. Thus, the research provides a promising method for preparing carbon-based TMPs materials towards electrocatalysis.