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Abstract

Herein, Ni/NiO nanoparticles were anchored on phosphorous oxide/graphene for electrocatalytic water splitting. The organophosphate units in graphene nanosheets may facilitate the preferred formation of a surface oxide-modified nickel species with stable reduced electron density at the Fermi level. Efficient catalytic activity and stability in a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) were obtained. Ni/NiO@HGP_xO_y with a low nickel loading shows an overpotential of 205 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and a Tafel slope of 80 mV dec^-1, whereas those of its undoped counterpart are 278 mV and 117 mV dec^-1, respectively. We proposed that the small particle size, uniform dispersion of Ni/NiO nanoparticles, and electronic effect arising from the interactions between HGP_x>O_y and Ni/NiO nanohybrids contribute to the improved electrocatalytic performance.