Monodisperse Cu3P nanoplates in situ grown on reduced graphene oxide via hydrophobic interaction for water splitting

The monodisperse Cu3P nanoplate/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite was obtained by in situ growing Cu3P on the surface of rGO via the hydrophobic interaction in the colloidal solution. The monodisperse Cu3P nanoplates is about 55 nm due to the modification of hexadecylamine. The composite structure not only offered more catalytic active sites by Cu3P nanoplates, but also facilitated rapid electron transfer due to rGO for water splitting. The Cu3P/rGO showed a high hydrogen evolution reaction efficiency, which yielded low overpotentials of 144 mV at current density of 10 mA cm−2.