Regular Modulating space charge of FeP/CoP p-n heterojunction for boosting oxygen evolution reaction

Surface reconstruction of electrocatalysts is an effective strategy to modulate the space charge distribution to enhance the electrocatalytic activity. The p -n heterostructured FeP/CoP-2D octagonal nanoplates were successfully constructed by cation -exchange method. The space charge effect caused by the p -n heterojunction accelerated the electron transfer, optimized the electronic structure, and improved the activity of the active sites during the oxygen evolution reaction process. As a result, FeP/CoP-2D required only 247 mV overpotential to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm -2 with a Tafel slope as low as 68 mV dec -1 . Density -functional theory calculations confirmed that the construction of p -n heterojunctions can enhance the adsorption of *OH in the active centers and optimize the Gibbs free energy of the OER reaction. This study provides an effective and feasible strategy for constructing p -n heterojunctions to modulate the space charge state for optimizing the OER performance of electrocatalysts.