A Cu₃P–CoP hybrid nanowire array: a superior electrocatalyst for acidic hydrogen evolution reactions

Abstract

It is highly attractive to construct cost-effective hybrid electrocatalysts with superior activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acids. In this communication, we report a novel structure consisting of a Cu₃P-CoP hybrid nanowire array supported on carbon cloth (Cu₃P-CoP/CC) as a superior HER electrocatalyst in acidic media. Owing to the synergistic effect between Cu₃P and CoP, this Cu₃P-CoP/CC catalyst exhibits superior catalytic HER performance, needing an overpotential of 59 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 in 0.5 M H₂SO₄, 24 and 130 mV less than that for CoP/CC and Cu₃P/CC, respectively. Moreover, this catalyst also shows high long-term electrochemical durability.