A review: Target-oriented transition metal phosphide design and synthesis for water splitting

With the scarcity of fuel energy, non-noble metal compounds assisted water of electrolysis is becoming a potential candidate for cost-effective and high-quality hydrogen production. To date, transition metal phosphide (TMP) has been considered as one of the most promising catalysts for water splitting because of its multitudinous but controlled constituent elements and stoichiometric ratios. In this review, the electronic structure analysis of TMP dialectically reveals the active derivation for catalyzing hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). And then the strategies of rationally designing the structure and composition of electrocatalyst to improve its intrinsic activity are discussed, especially interface engineering. Besides, this review also focuses on the negligible stability issue during the water splitting process. In the end, some key challenges and research orientations of TMPs are pointed out, which is instructive for developing high-efficient and stable electrocatalysts for water splitting. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article discusses transition metal phosphides (TMP) as catalysts for water splitting, studies the effect of their electronic structure on catalytic activity, explores strategies for optimizing the structure and composition of electrocatalysts, and focuses on stability issues. Key challenges and research directions for TMPs are pointed out.