Reconstructed vanadium carbide MXene supported cerium based trimetallic phosphide as an efficient electrocatalyst for alkaline water splitting
Journal
Chemical Engineering Journal
Journal Volume
515
Start Page
163888
ISSN
1385-8947
Date Issued
2025-07-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Developing cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts with high activity and durability for alkaline water splitting is vital for scalable green hydrogen production. One promising approach involves designing effective catalyst supports that can strongly anchor active particles and tune their electronic properties and oxidation states. Among various candidates, the ease of modulating cerium oxidation states and the unique conductivity and surface chemistry of V2C MXene have drawn our attention. In this work, we present a simple strategy to prepare a novel cerium-based trimetallic phosphide combined with V2C MXene heterostructure electrocatalyst (CeCoFeP@MXene) for efficient alkaline water splitting. We systematically studied the influence of MXene content on the activity of CeCoFeP. The optimal catalyst required only 91 mV and 266 mV overpotential to achieve 10 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively. The assembled electrolyzer needed just 1.63 V to deliver 10 mA cm−2 and exhibited excellent durability over 120 h. The in-situ grown CeCo-layered double hydroxide and Prussian blue on MXene offered good conductivity, structural stability, and a porous, high-surface-area architecture. The multiple oxidation states of vanadium facilitated electron transfer, while the Ce3+/Ce4+ redox pair and transition metals optimized intermediate adsorption. Phosphorus doping further tuned the metal sites’ electronic structure, promoting an ensemble effect and enhanced charge transfer. Notably, in-situ generated phosphate-containing metal hydroxides and oxyhydroxides acted as the true active sites for HER and OER. This study highlights the synergistic effects of Ce–Co–Fe trimetallic phosphides, phosphate stabilization, and a conductive MXene framework, laying the foundation for next-generation MXene-based electrocatalyst designs.
Subjects
Cerium cobalt iron phosphide
Electrocatalytic water splitting
Hydrogen evolution reaction
Layered double hydroxides
MXene
Oxygen evolution reaction
Prussian blue analogues
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Type
journal article