Design and Synthesis of Highly Active Al–Ni–P Foam Electrode for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

An effective method to boost the electrocatalytic activity of nickel phosphides in H 2 evolution reaction is reported. The method took advantage of density functional theory calculations that allowed the design of a highly active material based on the combination of d-metal with p-metal within a phosphide structure. Furthermore, the principle is proven experimentally through successful synthesis of self-supported ternary Al–Ni–P foam electrocatalyst by alloying of Ni and Al followed by the gas transport phosphorization reaction. As a cathode for H 2 evolution reaction in acidic electrolyte, Al–Ni–P significantly outperforms pure Ni–P, and it has an exchange current density of 0.6 mA/cm 2 and a Tafel slope of 65 mV/decade.