Facile synthesis of ultrathin interconnected carbon nanosheets as a robust support for small and uniformly-dispersed iron phosphide for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract Supports play crucial role in determining the catalytic activity, selectivity and overall performance of the supported catalytic nanoassemblies. Herein, ultrathin interconnected carbon nanosheets (CN) are prepared and used as a robust support for dispersion of iron phosphide (FeP) nanoparticles, and the resulting catalytic system is evaluated as low-cost electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Carbon is derived from carbonization of sodium citrate in one-step, which is interconnected and in the form of ultrathin nanosheets (thickness