Nanowerk July 3, 2020
By manipulating (electro)chemical gradients using a combined hydrothermal and electrodeposition strategy, an international team of researchers (China, the Netherlands) has shown the controlled growth of Co(OH)2 nanostructures, mimicking the process of garden cultivation. The resulting “nano-garden” can selectively contain different patterns, all of which can be fully phosphidated into CoP without losing the structural integrity. Under pH-universal conditions, the CoP “soil + flower-with-stem” structure shows a much more “effective” surface area for gas-evolving reactions with lower activation and concentration overpotentials. This provides superior bifunctional catalytic activity for both reactions, outperforming noble metal counterparts…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE