Synthesis of Crystalline–Amorphous CoMoP/NF Heterostructure with 3D Hierarchical Nanosheet Flowers and Its Electrocatalytic Water Splitting Performance

A layered bimetallic CoMo-LDH precursor was prepared on nickel foam via a hydrothermal method, and a 3D hierarchical flower-like nanosheet CoMoP/NF electrocatalyst with a crystalline–amorphous heterostructure was constructed in situ through low-temperature phosphidation. The water electrolysis performance was optimized by adjusting the Co/Mo molar ratio. The 3D hierarchical porous structure provides a large specific surface area and abundant active sites, and Mo doping effectively modulates the electronic structure. The catalyst exhibits superior HER performance with overpotentials of only 37 mV and 65 mV at 10 mA·cm−2in acidic and alkaline media and shows a lower HER overpotential than commercial Pt/C at current densities above 426 mA·cm−2in acidic conditions. Meanwhile, this catalyst delivers an OER overpotential of 729 mV at 500 mA·cm−2in alkaline media and can operate stably for 50 h. The assembled two-electrode overall water splitting cell only requires 1.42 V at 10 mA·cm−2, outperforming Pt/CǁRuO2(1.52 V). This work offers a promising strategy for designing low-cost and high-efficiency overall water splitting electrocatalysts for high-current-density applications.