MOF-derived cobalt phosphide as highly efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

•CoP/C nanoparticles are derived by direct pyrolysis of MOF-71.•CoP/C with two-dimensional layered structure was synthesized.•The Di-CoP/C show a low overpotential of 136 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Given the scarcity and high cost of metal Pt, the search for cheap and readily available non-precious metal catalysts remains the key to solving hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) today. Transition-metal phosphides (TMPs) have been widely studied in recent years due to their excellent catalytic activity. In this work, we using Co-based metal-organic framework (MOF) as the precursor, prepared two kinds of cobalt phosphide (CoP/C) by direct phosphating and indirect phosphating methods, which showed good electrochemical performance of HER. The Di-CoP/C showed lower overpotential of 136 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in the acid electrolyte, and the slope of Tafel was 49.3 mV dec−1. At the same time, the catalyst showed excellent stability.