Facile synthesis of highly active monolithic water-separated W-doped Ni–Fe–P catalysts

A new type of highly active and cost-effective nanoporous W-doped Ni–Fe–P catalyst on nickel foam (NF) was synthesized by a facile electroless plating method. The W-doped Ni–Fe–P/NF catalysts exhibit extraordinary catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media, capable of yielding a current density of −10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of only 68 mV. Furthermore, the catalysts also show efficient activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with an overpotential of 210 mV at j = 10 mA cm−2 as well. The W-doped Ni–Fe–P/NF electrocatalyst exhibits a long-term durability over 13 h test.