The stainless steel mesh (SSM) has received remarkable attention for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. It was demonstrated that the SSM exhibits admirable performance towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysis, while its catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains quite low. This obstructs the utilization of SSM-based catalysts for sustainable complete water electrolysis. In this study, a facile hydrothermal route followed by a phosphorization process was adopted to transform commercially available SSM materials into high-performance and stable electrocatalysts for alkaline HER. We report an interconnected NiCoP-CoP sponge-like structure on SSM substrate without polymer binder. Benefiting from the 3D construction with high exposed surface area, close contact between electroactive species and conductive surface, and facilitated infiltration of electrolyte, the as-prepared NiCoP@SSM electrocatalyst brought an improved catalytic activity for HER, required a low overpotential of 138 mV to derive a current density of 10 mAcm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. The high performance of the NiCoP@SSM catalyst has also unveiled fast reaction kinetics (presents a small Tafel slope of 74 mV/dec), a relatively large electrochemical active surface area (ECSA), and small charge transfer resistance. Furthermore, the NiCoP@SSM electrode also presented excellent stability during long-term measurements, making it one of the most encouraging HER electrodes to date. This research study paves the way for the development of HER-active electrocatalysts made from SSMs that are commercially available, low-cost, and highly active.

不锈钢网 (SSM) 在析氢和析氧反应中受到了极大的关注。结果表明，SSM 在析氧反应 (OER) 电催化方面表现出令人钦佩的性能，而其对析氢反应 (HER) 的催化活性仍然很低。这阻碍了基于 SSM 的催化剂用于可持续的完全水电解。在这项研究中，采用简单的水热路线和磷化工艺将市售的 SSM 材料转化为高性能和稳定的碱性 HER 电催化剂。我们在没有聚合物粘合剂的 SSM 基板上报告了一种互连的 NiCoP-CoP 海绵状结构。受益于具有高暴露表面积的 3D 结构，^-2在 1.0 M KOH 水溶液中。NiCoP@SSM 催化剂的高性能还揭示了快速反应动力学（呈现出 74 mV/dec 的小塔菲尔斜率）、相对较大的电化学活性表面积（ECSA）和较小的电荷转移电阻。此外，NiCoP@SSM 电极在长期测量中也表现出出色的稳定性，使其成为迄今为止最令人鼓舞的 HER 电极之一。这项研究为开发由商业可用、低成本和高活性的 SSM 制成的 HER 活性电催化剂铺平了道路。