Template-free synthesis of porous Mo3P/MoP nanobelts as efficient catalysts for hydrogen generation

Abstract Hydrogen has attracted extensive attention as a potential alternative energy and many achievements have been made in the research of transition metal phosphide catalysts, but further improvements are still strongly demanded. In this report, we propose a novel strategy for the template-free synthesis of Mo 3 P/MoP porous nanobelts as efficient catalysts for hydrogen generation. The porous structures can give more active sites, and the presence of Mo 3 P can further improve the internal electron transfer ability through the strong bond. Thus, the porous Mo 3 P/MoP hybrid catalyst exhibits an outstanding hydrogen evolution activity and a good stability. This study may provide a facile and effective strategy for the improvement of transition metal phosphide catalysts by controlling the structures and compositions.