Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) Derived Iron Phosphide as Highly Stable and Efficient Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

Herein, a facile and universal strategy for developing metal phosphides by metal organic frameworks (MOFs) was constructed and a high efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst was developed. By employing MIL-101(Fe) as the precursor, through carbonization, in situ reduction and direct phosphating process in the presence of NaH2PO2, carbon-coated FeP nanoparticles(FeP-NPs/C) with large specific surface area(114.3 m2 g-1)was successfully synthesized. When applied for HER test in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, the catalyst exhibited superior HER activity with an onset overpotential of 23 mV, a Tafel slope of 72 mV dec-1, an exchange current density of 0.925 mA cm-2 and an overpotential of 72 mV at current density of 10 mA cm-2, which was comparable to or even surpassed most of the opponents. Moreover, it exhibited no obvious decay after 1000 cycles scans in a long-term durability test.