Covalent Functionalization of Nickel Phosphide Nanocrystals with Aryl-Diazonium Salts

Covalent functionalization of Ni2P nanocrystals was demonstrated using aryl-diazonium salts. Spontaneous adsorption of aryl functional groups was observed, with surface coverages ranging from 20-96% depending on the native reactivity of the salt as determined by the aryl substitution pattern. Increased coverage was possible for low reactivity species using a sacrificial reductant. Functionalization was confirmed using thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The structure and energetics of this nanocrystal electrocatalyst system, as a function of ligand coverage, was explored with density functional theory calculations. The Hammett parameter of the surface functional group was found to linearly correlate with the change in Ni and P core-electron binding energies and the nanocrystal’s experimentally and computationally determined work-function. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the functionalized nanocrystals for hydrogen evolution were also improved when compared to the unfunctionalized material, but a simple trend based on electrostatics was not evident. We used density functional theory to understand this discrepancy and found that H adsorption energies on the covalently functionalized Ni2P also do not follow the electrostatic trend and are predictive descriptors of the experimental results.