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Tunable cation vacancy engineering of FeP toward efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.
Zuhao Wang1, Jie Gu1, Yifan Leng1
1Strait Institute of Flexible Electronics (SIFE, Future Technologies), Fujian Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics, Fujian Normal University and Strait Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (SLoFE), Fuzhou, 350117, China. ifehfdu@fjnu.edu.cn.
We engineered iron phosphide (FeP) catalysts with tunable cation vacancies for enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Optimal vacancies boost performance, demonstrating a new strategy for transition metal phosphides (TMPs).
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) are cost-effective electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
- Insufficient catalytic performance hinders the practical application of TMPs.
- Developing strategies to enhance TMP catalytic activity is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a tunable cation vacancy engineering strategy to enhance the HER activity of iron phosphide (FeP).
- To investigate the effect of cation vacancy concentration on FeP's HER performance.
- To demonstrate a facile method for creating controlled cation vacancies in TMPs.
Main Methods:
- Facile phosphidation and acid etching of zinc iron hexacyanoferrate (ZnFeHCF) using controllable Zn sacrificial agents.
- Precise control of cation vacancy concentrations over a broad range (0.3-33.6%) by adjusting Zn content.
- Systematic investigation of the relationship between cation vacancies, electronic structure, and HER activity.
Main Results:
- An optimal cation vacancy concentration (16.2%) significantly boosted FeP's HER activity.
- Optimized FeP exhibited a low overpotential (119 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²), a low Tafel slope (59.2 mV dec⁻¹), and excellent stability.
- Excessive vacancies led to lattice distortion and surface oxidation, deteriorating performance.
Conclusions:
- Tunable cation vacancy engineering is an effective strategy to enhance the HER activity of FeP.
- The developed method provides precise control over vacancy concentration for optimizing catalyst performance.
- This work offers a promising FeP catalyst for HER and a versatile approach for TMP modification.
