Cobalt Based Nanoparticles Embedded Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogel for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst

Abstract

Abstract Efficient water electrolysis catalyst is highly demanded for the production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy fuel. It is reported that cobalt derived nanoparticle (CoS 2 , CoP, CoS|P) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite aerogel catalysts for highly active and reliable hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. 7 nm level cobalt derived nanoparticles are synthesized over graphene aerogel surfaces with excellent surface coverage and maximal expose of active sites. CoS|P/rGO hybrid aerogel composites show an excellent catalytic activity with overpotential of ≈169 mV at a current density of ≈10 mA cm −2 . Accordingly, efficient charge transfer is attained with Tafel slope of ≈52 mV dec −1 and a charge transfer resistance ( R ct ) of ≈12 Ω. This work suggests a viable route toward ultrasmall, uniform nanoparticles decorated graphene surfaces with well‐controlled chemical compositions, which can be generally useful for various applications commonly requiring large exposure of active surface area as well as robust interparticle charger transfer.