N, P-doped carbon supported ruthenium doped Rhenium phosphide with porous nanostructure for hydrogen evolution reaction using sustainable energies

Developing efficient and cost-effective catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is vital to hydrogen energy's commercial applications. In this study, N,P-doped carbon supported ruthenium (Ru) doped triruthenium tetraphosphide (Re3P4) (Ru-Re3P4/NPC) with porous nanostructure is prepared using the low-toxic melamine phosphate as the carbon and phosphorous source. The in-situ generated N,P-doped carbon layers play a pivotal role in regulating the electrocatalytic activity by avoiding the aggregation of the nanoparticles and increasing the specific surface area. Moreover, Ru doping contributes to the remarkable electrocatalytic performance of the prepared nanomaterials. Impressively, the as-synthesized Ru-Re3P4/NPC presents remarkable electrocatalytic performances toward HER with small overpotentials of 39 mV, 115 mV, and 88 mV to deliver 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline, neutral, and acidic media. Moreover, the prepared electrocatalyst can drive water-splitting with a small potential of 1.45 V@10 mA cm−2 and use sustainable energies, including solar, wind, and thermal, as electric resources. This work paves a novel and valuable way to enhance the electrocatalytic performances of metal phosphides.