One-step synthesis of Co2P/N-P co-doped porous carbon composites derived from soybean derivatives as acidic and alkaline HER electrocatalysts

Developing inexpensive and efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline mediums is of great significance to the hydrogen energy industry. Hereby, we prepared a mixture of precursors with homogeneous composition by using the chelating ability of soybean protein isolate (C and N source) and phytic acid (dopant and phosphating agent) with cobalt ions, and achieved one-step synthesis and construction of Co2P/N–P co-doped porous carbon composite by carbonization at 800 °C. The as-synthesized Co2P/NPPC-800 electrocatalyst exhibits low HER overpotentials of 121 and 125 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1.0 M KOH, which are close to those of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Additionally, the NPPC substrate surrounding the Co2P could diminish the corrosion during the HER, and Co2P/NPPC-800 displays good stability and durability. Furthermore, this work offers a convenient synthesis strategy for phosphide/doped porous carbon composites in other electrochemical energy technologies.