TITLE:
Molybdenum Phosphide Flakes Catalyze Hydrogen Generation in Acidic and Basic Solutions
AUTHORS:
Zhongzhong Chen, Cuncai Lv, Zhibo Chen, Lihuang Jin, Jie Wang, Zhipeng Huang
KEYWORDS:
Molybdenum Phosphide, Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Catalyst, Electrolysis
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Analytical Chemistry,
Vol.5 No.17,
December
11,
2014
ABSTRACT: Molybdenum
phosphide (MoP) flakes were synthesized by the reduction of hexaammonium heptamolybdate
tetrahydrate and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate. The flakes are porous and constructed
by MoP nanoparticles with ca. 100 nm
diameters. The lateral size of flakes ranges from less than 1 μm to larger than
5 μm, and the thickness of MoP fakes is ca. 200 nm. The mixture of MoP flakes and carbon black exhibits effective catalytic
activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction. The optimal overpotential required
for 20 mA·cm﹣2 current density is 155 mV in acidic solution and 184
mV in basic solution. The mixture can work stably in long-term hydrogen
generation in both acidic and basic solution. The faradaic yield of mixture in
hydrogen evolution reaction is nearly 100% in both acidic and basic solution.
The Mo and P species in MoP flakes are found to have small positive and
negative charge, respectively. The catalytic activity of MoP flakes is likely
to be correlated with this charged nature.