Abstract
Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) in ginkgo leaves are converted to carbon lattice heteroatoms, making them a matrix. Herein, cobalt phosphide (CoP) is loaded on the N/S/phosphorus (P) co-doped carbon matrix (CoP@NSPC) via the carbothermic reduction method using the ginkgo leave-based carbon as the precursor. The N/P co-doped carbon matrix loaded with CoP (CoP@NPC) are also prepared using glucose-based carbon as the support. Ef-fects of intrinsic heteroatoms from ginkgo leaves are revealed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photo-electron spectroscopy (UPS) compared with CoP@NPC. The N/S heteroatoms accelerate the electron transfer and adjust the d-band center of CoP@NSPC, thus causing a faster electrocatalytic process. The as-obtained CoP@NSPC exhibits excellent activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, 160 mV @ 10 mA cm -2) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER, 198 mV @ 10 mA cm -2). The assembly feasibility and catalytic performance are further verified in overall water splitting and exhibits high efficiency and long durability of CoP@NSPC.