Mesoporous RhTe nanowires towards all-pH-value hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis

[Display omitted] •Mesoporous RhTe nanowires were prepared via a two-step synthesis strategy.•The catalysts provide abundant active sites and reduced hydrogen adsorption energy.•The electrocatalysts show superior activity for H2 production at wide pH values. The development of efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential for sustainable production of hydrogen, while it is still a tremendous challenge. In this study, we demonstrate a dual-template approach to constructing one-dimensional mesoporous RhTe nanowires (m-RhTe NWs) as a pH-universal HER electrocatalyst. Benefiting from abundant active sites, reduced hydrogen binding energy on Rh, and improved charge delivery capacities, the m-RhTe NWs exhibit excellent HER activities compared with commercial Pt/C, which requires an overpotential of 28, 29, and 49 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H2SO4, 1.0 M KOH, and 1.0 M phosphate-buffered saline, respectively, as well as benign stability. Meanwhile, the Faradic efficiency of as-developed m-RhTe NWs is 97% for H2 production in a full pH range. The present work could provide a material design for the development of 1D Rh-based materials with advanced performance in the HER and other energy catalysis.