Wet chemical synthesis of rhodium nanoparticles anchored on cobalt/nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers for high-performance alkaline and acidic hydrogen evolution.

[Display omitted] • Rh nanoparticles anchored on Co/ N -doped carbon nanofibers are prepared via an electrospinning-pyrolysis-reduction method. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst shows rich exposed active sites and excellent electrical conductivity. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst presents high HER activities in both alkaline and acidic media. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst presents an excellent long-term stability towards HER. Constructing high-activity electrocatalysts towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an essential way to achieve efficient, green and sustainable energy from water electrolysis. In this work, rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles anchored on cobalt (Co)/nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) catalyst is prepared by the electrospinning-pyrolysis-reduction method. The synergy effect between Co-NCNFs and Rh nanoparticles contributes to the superior HER activity and favorable durability. The optimized 0.15Co-NCNFs-5Rh sample exhibits ultralow overpotentials of 13 and 18 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2 in an alkaline and acidic electrolyte, surpassing many Rh-based or Co-based electrocatalysts reported in the literature. Additionally, the Co-NCNFs-Rh sample shows a better HER activity than benchmark Pt/C catalyst in an alkaline medium at all current densities and in an acidic condition at higher current densities, offering its promising practical applications. Thus, this work provides an efficient methodology to construct high-performance HER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]