Boron-doped CoP/nitrogen-doped carbon drives enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution

Developing durable and efficient catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance for hydrogen production. By judiciously doping nonmetallic elements into transition metal electrocatalysts, the respective electronic configurations of the catalysts can be effectively adjusted, and their activity levels can be improved. Herein, B-doped CoP/nitrogen-doped carbon (B-CoP/NC) was constructed by subjecting B-doped Co-Prussian blue analogue to a phosphidation process. Benefiting from an enhanced electrochemical active area, improved conductivity, and suitable electron distribution caused by the introduction of B, the defective nanocubes of the B-CoP/NC catalyst needed overpotentials of only 158 and 234 mV to achieve current densities of, respectively, 10 and 100 mA cm⁻² and showed a low Tafel slope of 67 mV dec⁻¹. This work has supplied a general route involving NaBH₄ pretreatment for introducing B into transition metal phosphide and has offered a method for designing HER catalysts.