US 11,982,006 B2
Transition metal phosphide supported on carbon nanosheets
Mohammad Nahid Siddiqui, Dhahran (SA); Mohammad Qamar, Dhahran (SA); Alaaldin Mohamed Abdalla Adam, Dhahran (SA); and Munzir H. Suliman, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Jul. 22, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/518,319.
Prior Publication US 2021/0025064 A1, Jan. 28, 2021
Int. Cl. C25B 11/091 (2021.01); C25B 1/04 (2021.01)
CPC C25B 11/091 (2021.01) [C25B 1/04 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrode, comprising an electrically conductive substrate coated with an electrocatalyst, the electrocatalyst comprising:
nanoparticles of an iron phosphide; and
carbon nanosheets as a catalyst support, the carbon nanosheets having no nitrogen or phosphorus doping, and the carbon nanosheets being interconnected with covalent carbon-carbon bonds,
wherein the carbon nanosheets branch by at least partially peeling so that a single nanosheet branches into multiple nanosheets each individually having a continuous structure but covalently connected to one or more core or nucleus nanosheets,
wherein the nanoparticles have an average diameter in the range of from 3 to 30 nm, and the carbon nanosheets have a thickness of no more than 3 nm,
wherein the molar ratio of the nanoparticles of the iron phosphide to the carbon nanosheets is in a range of from 0.15 to 0.3,
wherein the electrode has a BET surface area in a range of from 140 to 200 m2/g,
wherein the electrode has a hydrogen evolution reaction turnover frequency in a range of from 0.90 to 0.30 s1,
and wherein the electrode has an overpotential in a hydrogen evolution reaction to produce a current density of 10 mA/cm2 in acidic conditions in a range of from 50 to 104 mV.