Nickel-to-cobalt ratio-based interfacial electronic modulation of NiCoP on N–P-co-doped mesoporous carbon to create efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution reactions

The development of cost-efficient electrocatalysts is vital for advancing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, NiCoP nanorods are hydrothermally anchored on nitrogen N–P-co-doped mesoporous carbon (NPMC) derived from corn stalk cores. The N–P-co-doped framework (N/P atomic ratio ≈ 1:1) and mesoporous structure provide abundant anchoring sites and rapid transport pathways, which enable uniform dispersion of NiCoP and enhanced transfer of interfacial charge. Systematic regulation of the Ni/Co ratio optimizes the local electronic structure of Ni–Co–P active centers, leading to more favorable H∗ adsorption energetics and accelerated HER kinetics, as supported by density functional theory calculations. The optimized Ni 1.5 Co 0.5 P/NPMC delivers an overpotential of 78 mV at 10 mA/cm 2 and a Tafel slope of 66 mV/dec in 1.0 M KOH. This work establishes a practical design principle in which biomass-derived, doped, and mesoporous carbon supports are processed with composition regulation to create efficient, nonnoble electrocatalysts for the alkaline HER.