The Synthesis of Nanostructured Ni5P4 Films and their Use as a Non-Noble Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Full Water Splitting

The investigation of nickel phosphide (Ni5P4) as a catalyst for the hydrogen (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in strong acidic and alkaline environment is described. The catalyst can be grown in a 3D hierarchical structure directly on a nickel substrate, thus making it an ideal candidate for practical water splitting devices. The activity of the catalyst towards the HER, together with its high stability especially in acidic solution, makes it one of the best non‐noble materials described to date. Furthermore, Ni5P4 was investigated in the OER and showed activity superior to pristine nickel or platinum. The practical relevance of Ni5P4 as a bifunctional catalyst for the overall water splitting reaction was demonstrated, with 10 mA cm−2 achieved below 1.7 V. Doubling up: 3D hierarchical structured nickel phosphide (Ni5P4) shows excellent performance as a hydrogen evolution catalyst. The formation of a NiOOH/Ni5P4 heterojunction results in high activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction, thereby making the catalyst one of the best bifunctional catalysts for the overall water splitting reaction.