High-entropy phosphate/C hybrid nanosheets for efficient acidic hydrogen evolution reaction

It is a huge challenge to develop acidic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) non-platinum (Pt) catalysts with high activity and excellent stability. In this work, a two-step method was used to synthesize high-entropy phosphate/carbon (HEPi/C) hybrid nanosheets for the first time. First, high-entropy metal–organic framework (HE-MOF) nanosheets were synthesized by an entropy-driven mechanochemical method at room temperature, and then high-temperature phosphating is performed. HEPi/C hybrid nanosheets exhibit excellent HER performance in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, the overpotential of 40 mV at 10 mA cm−2 is lower than that of commercial Pt/C (η10 = 48 mV), and has excellent catalytic stability. More interestingly, at an overpotential of 50 mV, the mass activity of the HEPi/C hybrid nanosheets is as high as 1.6 A mg−1noble metal. This work provides an attractive non-Pt-based material for acidic HER, and also provides a new idea for designing highly efficient and stable hybrid materials composed of high-entropy materials and carbon for electrocatalytic applications.