Highly efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) are crucial for electrochemical water splitting, where high-cost and low-abundance Pt-based materials are the benchmark catalysts for HER. Herein, we report the fabrication of MoP nanoparticles confined in P-doped porous carbon (MoP@PC) via a metal-organic framework-assisted route for the first time. Remarkably, due to the synergistic effects of MoP nanocrystals, P dopant, and porous carbon, the resulting MoP@PC composite exhibits superior HER catalytic activity with an onset overpotential of 97 mV, a Tafel slope of 59.3 mV dec-1, and good long-term durability, which compares to those of most reported MoP-based HER catalysts. Most importantly, the work opens a new route in the development of high-performance nonprecious HER electrocatalysts derived from MOFs.
Keywords: electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; metal−organic frameworks; molybdenum phosphide; porous carbon.