N-doped bimetallic phosphides composite catalysts derived from metal–organic frameworks for electrocatalytic water splitting

Exceptional electrocatalytic activities and synergistic effect of bimetallic phosphides make them ideal electrocatalysts for water splitting. Herein, we developed composite bimetallic phosphides derived from metal–organic framework (MOF) as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. Despite their exceptional electrocatalytic activity, the complicated synthesis strategy of MOF-derived bimetallic phosphides still hinders their further development in OER. In this work, we applied an oil bath plus solvothermal approach to synthesize N-doped MOF-derived bimetallic phosphides catalysts with superior catalytic activities. Furthermore, the addition of N atom and taking advantage of the collaborative effect of Ni and Co can enhance their performance of the OER. Through optimizing the Ni/Co ratio, when current density reaches 10 mA cm −2 , an extremely low overpotential of 290.0 ± 2.4 mV and Tafel slope of 60.85 mV dec −1 were obtained based on the N-Ni 2 Co 3 -P catalysts. Furthermore, the degree of phosphating plays a crucial role to obtain high ectrocatalytic activities. The excellent catalytic stability of these catalysts was demonstrated in a long-term stability test, where no decay was observed after 14 h in KOH (pH = 13.5) electrolyte. Our research not only provides a versatile method to produce high-efficiency sustainable electrocatalyst, but also supplies the promising outlook for designing and developing multicomponent electrocatalysts. Graphical Abstract The N-doped MOF-derived bimetallic phosphides catalysts with superior catalytic activities were synthesized using an oil bath plus solvothermal approach. An extremely low overpotential of 290.0 ± 2.4 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and Tafel slope of 60.85 mV dec −1 were achieved based on the N-Ni 2 Co 3 -P catalysts.