Author(s)

Zhongzhong Chen, Cuncai Lv, Zhibo Chen, Lihuang Jin, Jie Wang, Zhipeng Huang^*

China-Australia Joint Research Center for Functional Molecular Materials, Scientific Research Academy, Jiangsu University, Jiangsu, China.

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.

Molybdenum Phosphide, Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Catalyst, Electrolysis

Chen, Z. , Lv, C. , Chen, Z. , Jin, L. , Wang, J. and Huang, Z. (2014) Molybdenum Phosphide Flakes Catalyze Hydrogen Generation in Acidic and Basic Solutions. American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 5, 1200-1213. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2014.517127.