Assessment of the Stability and Operability of Cobalt Phosphide Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution

Transition metal phosphides have been investigated heavily as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. One of the most active transition metal phosphides, CoP, has been tested for its stability and operability under mild conditions that it may be exposed to in its applications (photoelectrochemistry and artificial photosynthesis). Surface-interrogation scanning electrochemical microscopy (SI-SECM) revealed that CoP HER catalyst is vulnerable to oxidation (by oxygen and chemical oxidants). The degradation mechanism was shown to be surface oxidation by dioxygen, followed by acid etching of the oxidized layer. The compositional integrity (unity ratio of cobalt and phosphorus) was maintained throughout the film decomposition progress.