Recent advances in Ni3S2-based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

The preparation of hydrogen by electrolysis of water has the characteristics of easily available raw materials, simple process and eco-friendly, which has aroused the interest of many researchers. However, the inherent high reaction energy barrier and four-electron reaction mechanism of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) lead to large reaction overpotential, slow reaction rate and high energy consumption, resulting in low hydrogen evolution efficiency of the cathodic half-reaction, which greatly limits its practical application. Ni₃S₂ has a heazlewoodite structure. Due to the inherent Ni–Ni metal network, it has near-metal conductivity, which has attracted great attention in the application of electrocatalytic OER. Therefore, this article reviews the application of Ni₃S₂ and its composites in OER. The composition, structure and electrochemical catalytic performance were systematically summarized. It can be believed that Ni₃S₂-based materials will have a wide application prospect as OER electrocatalysts in the future.     

Core-shell Ni3Fe-based nanocomposites for the oxygen evolution reaction

To deal with energy and environmental issues, it is necessary to exploit efficient and stable electrocatalysts for the generation of clean hydrogen. Herein, we describe the synthesis of bimetallic Fe/Ni alloy encapsulated by amorphous carbon shells via a facile annealing strategy for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The ferric nickel tartrate annealed at 800 °C (Ni₃Fe₁O_x@C-800) exhibits a low OER overpotential of 264 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 and good stability in alkaline media. Compared with monometallic counterpart, bimetallic Ni₃Fe-based nanocomposites show lower OER barrier (ca. 324 kJ mol^?1) due to a cooperation mechanism between Ni and Fe sites in promoting electrocatalytic water oxidation. Compared with those annealed at other temperatures, the enhanced OER performance of Ni₃Fe₁O_x@C-800 can be ascribed to the large electrochemical surface area for exposing more active sites, smaller charge transfer, and better intrinsic activity of Ni₃Fe-based sites.     

Fe doped metal organic framework (Ni)/carbon black nanosheet as highly active electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

To alleviate the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics, it's urgent to develop electrocatalysts with high activity and low cost. In this work, Fe doped metal organic frameworks (Ni)/carbon black composites were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Benefiting from the direct use of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) for OER, numerous and highly dispersed active sites are exposed to the electrolyte and reactants. By regulating Ni/Fe ratios, a high electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and high relative surface content of active Ni³⁺ species are obtained, which mainly contribute to the high OER activity. Besides, the introduced carbon black (CB) was found to enhance the charge-transfer efficiency of the electrocatalysts, which is also favorable for OER. The optimal Ni9Fe1-BDC-0.15CB electrocatalyst shows excellent OER activity with the low overpotential of ~290 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and the Tafel slope of ~76.1 mV dec⁻¹, which is comparable to RuO₂ and other MOFs-based OER electrocatalysts reported in recent years.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of binder-free nano/micro structured dendritic cobalt activated nickel sulfide: a highly efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Reasonable design and preparation of non-noble metal electrocatalysts with predominant catalytic activity and long-term stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are essential for electrocatalytic water splitting. Ni foam (NF) is highlighted for its 3D porous structure, impressive conductivity and large specific surface area. Herein, nano/micro structured dendritic cobalt activated nickel sulfide grown on 3D porous NF (Co–Ni₃S₂/NF) has been successfully synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. Due to the ingenious incorporation of Co, Co–Ni₃S₂/NF electrode shows auspicious electrocatalytic performance for OER compared with Ni₃S₂/NF electrode. As a result, Co–Ni₃S₂/NF needs overpotential of only 274 and 459 mV at current density of 10 and 50 mA cm⁻², respectively, while Ni₃S₂/NF requires overpotential of 344 and 511 mV. At potential of 2.0 V (vs. RHE), Co–Ni₃S₂/NF displays current density of 191 mA cm⁻², while Ni₃S₂/NF just attains current density of only 135 mA cm⁻². Moreover, Co–Ni₃S₂/NF demonstrates excellent stability for uninterrupted OER in alkaline electrolyte. The strategy of designing and preparing cobalt activated nickel sulfide grown on NF renders a magnificent prospect for the development of metal-sulfide-based oxygen evolution catalysts with excellent electrocatalytic performances.     

ZIF-67-derived Co,Ni and S co-doped N-enriched porous carbon polyhedron as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER)

Rational fabrication of highly efficient and non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are of great importance for renewable energy exploitation to solving the energy crisis and environmental problems. In this paper, we report a novel hybrid nanostructure with Co, Ni and S co-doped N-enriched porous carbon polyhedron (CoNi_xS_y/NCP) via a absorption-pyrolysis-sulfuration strategy derived from zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) and explored its electrocatalytic performance for OER. During the synthesis process, Ni²⁺ is abosrbed within the pores or surface of ZIF-67 and Ni/ZIF-67 can be transformed into the Co and Ni co-doped porous carbon frameworks when it is sulfurazed at 800 °C. NiS₂ and NiCo₂S₄ nanoparticles formed at high temperature are homogeneously dispersed in porous carbon and can activate its electrocatalytic performance. The porous carbon can enhance the electrochemical surface area and charge transfer efficiency. Benefiting from the synergistic effects between highly active NiS₂, NiCo₂S₄, and porous carbon, CoNi_xS_y/NCP electrocatalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance. The results show that CoNi_xS_y/NCP also exhibits a potential as low as 1.51 V to achieve 10 mA/cm² current density and extremely stability towards OER. The good electrocatalytic activity of CoNi_xS_y/NCP further suggest its great potential as an efficient eletctocatalyst for sustainable energy applications.     

Promotional effects of trace Ni on its dual-functional electrocatalysis of Co/N-doped carbon nanotube catalysts for ORR and OER

It is still a great challenge for developing efficient dual-functional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The electrocatalysts are critical to enhance the efficiency of metal-air cells and fuel cells. In this study, a one-pot vapor deposition method was used to realize the synchronously dope of N and Ni (trace) into Co/C to form Co–Ni (trace)/N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co–Ni (trace)/NCNTs). An interesting result is that injecting dicyandiamide (DCD) into Ni foam as a precursor led to the in situ formation of NCNTs, with synchronous doping of trace Ni into Co species. The cooperative effects of the Co–Ni (trace) and N-doped carbon nanotubes resulted in superior dual-functional electrocatalytic performance of Co–Ni (trace)/NCNTs for the ORR (half-wave potential E_1/2 vs. RHE: 0.83 V, electron transfer number n: 3.97) and OER (overpotential vs. RHE: 337 mV at 10 mA cm^?2, Tafel slope: 94.0 mV dec^?1). Moreover, the Co–Ni (trace)/NCNTs catalyst showed excellent stability during 20,000 s of durability testing for both ORR and OER. This study provides a feasible strategy for designing efficient nonnoble metal-catalysts for renewable energy conversion devices.     

Enhanced oxygen evolution reaction kinetics through biochar-based nickel-iron phosphides nanocages in water electrolysis for hydrogen production

Highly-efficient and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts for overcoming the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is urgent for water electrolysis. Biomass-derived biochar has been considered as promising carbon material because of its advantages such as low-cost, renewable, simple preparation, rich structure, and easy to obtain heteroatom by in-situ doping. Herein, Ni₂P–Fe₂P bimetallic phosphide spherical nanocages encapsulated in N/P-doped pine needles biochar is prepared via a simple two-step pyrolysis method. Benefiting from the maximum synergistic effects of bimetallic phosphide and biochar, high conductivity of biochar encapsulation, highly exposed active sites of Ni₂P–Fe₂P spherical nanocages, rapid mass transfer in porous channels with large specific surface area, and the promotion in adsorption of reaction intermediates by high-level heteroatom doping, the (Ni_0.75Fe_0.25)₂P@NP/C demonstrates excellent OER activity with an overpotential of 250 mV and a Tafel slope of 48 mV/dec at 10 mA/cm² in 1 M KOH. Also it exhibits a long-term durability in 10 h electrolysis and its activity even improves during the electrocatalytic process. The present work provides a favorable strategy for the inexpensive synthesis of biochar-based transition metal electrocatalysts toward OER, and improves the water electrolysis for hydrogen production.     

Bimetal metal-organic framework hollow nanoprisms for enhanced electrochemical oxygen evolution

Carboxylate-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising electrocatalyst candidates for the water splitting and metal-air batteries. Hierarchical porous structure and redox-active metal centers with unsaturated coordination sites in MOFs facilitate the enhanced catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, uniform hollow structured Fe-free bi-metal (Co, Ni) MOF-74 nanoprisms are successfully synthesized using a solvothermal method and (Co₁Ni₁)₃(OH)(CH₃COO)₅ as the sacrificial templates, where Co and Ni are the metal nodes and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (H₄DOBDC) serves as the organic ligand. At an overpotential of 300 mV, CoNi MOF-74 shows a high electrocatalytic activity towards OER in 0.1 M KOH, where the current density is 10 mA cm^?2 and the Tafel slope is 65.6 mV dec^?1. Meanwhile, CoNi MOF-74 is durable that sustains in alkaline for 100 h with 83.25% retention of current density. The improved catalytic activity can be associated with the in-situ generated amorphous Ni–Co (oxy)hydroxide, as well as the electron transfer from Ni²⁺ to Co²⁺. This work elucidates the potential application of MOF materials as efficient electrocatalysts for OER.     

Superhydrophilic 3D peony flower-like Mo-doped Ni2S3@NiFe LDH heterostructure electrocatalyst for accelerating water splitting

Constructing highly efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential to improve the efficiency of overall water splitting, but still remains lots of obstacles. Herein, a novel 3D peony flower-like electrocatalyst was synthesized by employing Mo–Ni₂S₃/NF nanorod arrays as scaffolds to in situ growth ultrathin NiFe LDH nanosheets (Mo-Ni₂S₃@NiFe LDH). As expected, the novel peony flower-like Mo–Ni₂S₃@NiFe LDH displays superior electrocatalytic activity and stability for both OER and HER in alkaline media. Low overpotentials of only 228 mV and 109 mV are required to achieve the current densities of 50 mA cm^?2 and 10 mA cm^?2 for OER and HER, respectively. Additionally, the material remarkably accelerates water splitting with a low voltage of 1.54 V at 10 mA cm^?2, which outperforms most transition metal electrodes. The outstanding electrocatalytic activity benefits from the following these features: 3D peony flower-like structure with rough surface provides more accessible active sites; superhydrophilic surfaces lead to the tight affinity between electrode with electrolyte; metallic Ni substrate and highly conductive Mo–Ni₂S₃ nanorods scaffold together with offer fast electron transfer; the nanorod arrays and porous Ni foam accelerate gas bubble release and ions transmission; the strong interfacial effect between Mo-doped Ni₃S₂ and NiFe LDH shortens transport pathway, which are benefit for electrocatalytic performance enhancement. This work paves a new avenue for construction and fabrication the 3D porous structure to boost the intrinsic catalytic activities for energy conversion and storage applications.     

Ni nanoparticles embedded in N doped carbon nanotubes derived from a metal organic framework with improved performance for oxygen evolution reaction

Recently, to improve the catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts, some design strategies, such as the decrease of the catalyst particle size, the formation of the porous structure and the couple of carbon-based materials, are receiving increased attention in energy-related systems. Herein, based on metal organic framework (MOF), we develop an effective strategy to synthesize Ni nanoparticles embedded in N doped carbon nanotubes (Ni NPs@N-CNTs) catalyst. In consequence, the Ni NPs@N-CNTs integrates the advantageous features of NPs and N-CNTs towards OER, such as more catalytic sites, large surface area, pore-rich structure and good electrical conductivity. Benefiting from the favorable features, the Ni NPs@N-CNTs exhibits a better OER performance than commercial RuO₂ in alkaline medium, which includes a lower onset potential (1.49 V), a smaller Tafel slope (106 mV dec^?1). The present work opens a new window for the construction of the coupling materials between NPs and carbon-based materials to increase the electrocatalytic activity of transition metal catalysts.     

Carbon nanorod supported metal alloy nanocubes using polydopamine as location reagent for water splitting

Transition metal catalysts were supposed to be the most likely substitute for commercial noble metal catalysts, and the development of highly active and long-term catalyst for water splitting are the future trend. Herein, Ni rectangular nitrogen doped carbon nanorods@Fe–Co nanocubes (Ni-CNRs@Fe–Co cubes) were fabricated via a facile template-free method. This simple strategy not only realizes the structure tailoring, but also achieves high-quality nitrogen-doping. Specifically, nickel dimethylglyoxime [Ni(dmg)₂] with rectangular rodlike structure was firstly synthesized by solution method, then metal-organic frameworks Fe–Co nanocube with different contents were loaded on rectangular carbon nanorods with polydopamine as the locating and the connecting agent, and finally Ni-CNRs@xFe-Co cubes were obtained by a one-step calcination. A series of electrochemical tests were researched on materials with different metal contents in the 1 M KOH solution. The Ni-CNRs@Fe–Co cubes show excellent electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). For HER and OER, the Tafel slopes were 83.3 mV dec⁻¹ and 71 mV dec⁻¹, the onset potential were −167 mV and 1.62 V, and reached the current densities of 10 mA cm⁻², the overpotential just needed 196 mV and 433 mV, respectively. This novel synthetic strategy will provide a template-free way for cheap electrocatalysts of non-precious metal for OER and HER.     

Carbon supported Ni3N/Ni heterostructure for hydrogen evolution reaction in both acid and alkaline media

Hydrogen (H₂) is a carbon-free clean energy source and can be generated from water by electrolysis. The fabrication of highly sustainable electrode materials to replace expensive platinum is vital for the supportable production of molecular hydrogen via electrolysis of water. Nickel based electrode materials have attracted a great attention in the water splitting reaction. In this context, supporting material such as carbon is adopted to increase the catalytic activity. In this study, a special route was advanced to construct carbon supported Ni₃N/Ni, which was as an effective electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1 M KOH electrolytes. We observed that the carbon support can effectively improve the electronic structure of Ni₃N/Ni by introducing intrinsic active sites. The optimized Ni₃N/Ni@C composite showed superior electrical conductivity and charge transfer rate. Consequently, the Ni₃N/Ni@C750 °C composite showed enhanced electrocatalytic behaviour with a small overpotential of 163 and 172 mV to attain an optimal current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and durability over 1000 cycles in acid and alkaline electrolytes towards HER application.     

Top-down preparation of Ni–Pd–P@graphitic carbon core-shell nanostructure as a non-Pt catalyst for enhanced electrocatalytic reactions

Electrochemical reactions such as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are essential for energy conversion applications such as water electrolysis and fuel cells. Furthermore, Pt or Ir-related materials have been extensively utilized as electrocatalysts for the OER, ORR, and MOR. To reduce the utilization of precious metals, innovative catalyst structures should be proposed. Herein, we report a bi-metallic phosphide (Ni₂P and PdP₂) structure surrounded by graphitic carbon (Ni–Pd–P/C) with an enhanced electrochemical activity as compared to conventional electrocatalysts. Despite the low Pd content of 3 at%, Ni–Pd–P/C exhibits a low overpotential of 330 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 in the OER, high specific activity (2.82 mA cm^?2 at 0.8 V) for the ORR, and a high current density of 1.101 A mg^?1 for the MOR. The superior electrochemical performance of Ni–Pd–P/C may be attributed to the synergistic effect of the bi-metallic phosphide structure and core-shell structure formed by graphitic carbon.     

Electrochemical activation construction of LaCo1-x-yNixFeyO3 promoted by optimized lattice Ni doping toward water oxidation

Iron sites with high intrinsic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) can effectively enhanced the performance of perovskite oxide as electrocatalyst for water electrolysis. However, doping of iron in perovskite LaCoO₃ remains a challenge owing the strong Co–O bond and robust structure of LaCoO₃. Herein, the lattice doping of Ni in LaCoO₃ has been adopted to promote the interaction between iron ions and Co site in LaCoO₃. Firstly, molten salt of Ni(NO₃)₂ provides free-moving Ni ions to substitute Co sites in the lattice of LaCoO₃ forming LaCo_1-xNi_xO₃ at the optimized Ni doping condition. Then, iron ions can easily be absorbed to LaCo_1-xNi_xO₃ due to the strong interaction between Ni and Fe by electrochemical activation at room temperature. The prepared LaCo_1-x-yNi_xFe_yO₃ nanoparticles keep the coarse surface for maximizing the exposure of active sites. The high-valence Co and oxygen vacancy from LaCo_1-x-yNi_xFe_yO₃ contribute to the better intrinsic activity for OER, demonstrating the overpotential of ?₁₀ of approximately 315 mV and good stability. The strategy of by introducing the lattice doping of other metal ion can realize the facile and effective construction of iron doped perovskite oxide for water oxidation.     

High throughput preparation of Ni–Mo alloy thin films as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting

The synthesis of cost-effective and high-performance electrocatalysts for water splitting is the main challenge in electrochemical hydrogen production. In this study, we adopted a high throughput method to prepare bi-metallic catalysts for oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions (OER/HER). A series of Ni–Mo alloy electrocatalysts with tunable compositions were prepared by a simple co-sputtering method. Due to the synergistic effect between Ni and Mo, the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity of the Ni–Mo alloy electrocatalysts is improved, resulting in excellent HER and OER performances. The Ni₉₀Mo₁₀ electrocatalyst shows the best HER performance, with an extremely low overpotential of 58 mV at 10 mA cm^?2, while the Ni₄₀Mo₆₀ electrocatalyst shows an overpotential of 258 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 in OER. More significantly, the assembled Ni₄₀Mo₆₀//Ni₉₀Mo₁₀ electrolyzer only needs a cell voltage of 1.57 V to reach 10 mA cm^?2 for overall water splitting.     

Ga doped Ni3S2 ultrathin nanosheet arrays supported on Ti3C2-MXene/Ni foam: An efficient and stable 3D electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Exploring cost-efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is still a huge challenge in the electrochemical energy conversion technology. In this work, Gallium (Ga)-doped Ni₃S₂ nanosheet arrays grown on Ti₃C₂-MXene/nickel foam (Ga–Ni₃S₂/Ti₃C₂/NF) have been synthesized by a successive hydrothermal and sulfidization process. The Ga doping modulates the electronic structure of Ni₃S₂, so tuning the adsorption energies of oxygen intermediate (1OOH). The Ga–Ni₃S₂/Ti₃C₂/NF delivers outstanding catalytic activities toward OER with an overpotential of 340 mV at 100 mA cm^?2, and exhibits superior electrochemical durability. The excellent OER performance of Ga–Ni₃S₂/Ti₃C₂/NF can be ascribed to the 3D sheet arrays morphology and optimized electronic structure. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations also demonstrate that electronic disturbance attributed to Ga doping effectively improves the activity of Ni sites, leading to stronger binding strength of 1OOH intermediate at Ni sites nearby Ga. This study provides insights into the fabrication of advanced electrocatalysts for application.     

A novel efficient dual-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting based on Ni0.85Se/RGO/CNTs nanocomposite synthesized via different nickel precursors

Synthesizing efficient and affordable electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a crucial problem on the way to practical applications for producing clean H₂ fuel. Herein, high-efficiency and stable transition metal based electrocatalysts Ni_0.85Se-1, Ni_0.85Se-2 and Ni_0.85Se-3 materials with different morphological characteristics were derived via a one-step hydrothermal route using the Ni(OH)₂ and metal-organic framework (Ni-BDC and Ni-BTC) as precursors, respectively. The results showed that Ni_0.85Se-2 exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity. Subsequently, introducing carbon nanomaterials (RGO and CNTs) to form Ni_0.85Se/RGO/CNTs nanocomposite material further improves the catalytic activity owing to high conductivity. The resulting Ni_0.85Se/RGO/CNTs nanocomposites electrocatalyst showed a low overpotential of 232 mV and 165 mV and a low Tafel slope of 64 mV dec^?1 and 98 mV dec^?1 when the current density was 10 mA cm^?2 for OER and HER, respectively. In addition, the Ni_0.85Se/RGO/CNTs nanocomposites were used as an anode and cathode of the water electrolysis device and the overall water splitting performance was investigated. The results show just a voltage of 1.59 V was required when the current density was 10 mA cm^?2 and good overall water splitting stability for 20 h. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance of Ni_0.85Se/RGO/CNTs is mostly due to its noticeable porous structure, the high conductivity and the large surface area that came from RGO and CNTs.     

Ni3S2-MoSx nanorods grown on Ni foam as high-efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

In order to solve the problem of large overpotential in water electrolysis for hydrogen production, transition metal sulfides are promising bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction/oxygen evolution reaction that can significantly reduce overpotential. In this work, Ni₃S₂ and amorphous MoS_x nanorods directly grown on Ni foam (Ni₃S₂-MoS_x/NF) were prepared via one-step solvothermal process, which were used as a high-efficient electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. The Ni₃S₂-MoS_x/NF composite exhibits very low overpotentials of 65 and 312 mV to reach 10 mA cm⁻² and 50 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH for HER and OER, respectively. Besides, it exhibits a low Tafel slope (81 mV dec⁻¹ for HER, 103 mV dec⁻¹ for OER), high exchange current density (1.51 mA cm⁻² for HER, 0.26 mA cm⁻² for OER), and remarkable long-term cycle stability. This work provides new perspective for further the development of highly effective non-noble-metal materials in the energy field.     

Facile synthesis of three-dimensional spherical Ni(OH)2/NiCo2O4 heterojunctions as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting

Synthesis of highly efficient, non-noble and bi-functional electrocatalysts is exceedingly challenging and necessary for water splitting devices. In this work, three-dimensional spherical Ni(OH)₂/NiCo₂O₄ heterojunctions are prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method and the hybrids are explored as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline electrolyte via tuning different Ni/Co atomic ratios of heterojunctions. The optimized Ni(OH)₂/NiCo₂O₄ (S (1:1)) exhibits high electrocatalytic activity with an ultralow over-potential of 189 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² for the HER. With regard to the OER, the over-potential of the as-synthesized S (1:1) heterojunction is only 224 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm⁻². The improved catalytic performance of the Ni(OH)₂/NiCo₂O₄ heterojunctions is attributed to the chemical synergic combining of Ni(OH)₂ and NiCo₂O₄, large specific surface area for exposing more accessible active sites, and heterointerface for activating the intermediates that facilitates electron/electrolyte transport. The prepared catalyst exhibits good durability and stability in HER and OER catalyzing conditions. This study provides a feasible approach for the building of highly efficient bifunctional water splitting electrocatalysts and stimulates the development of renewable energy conversion and storage devices.     

Self-supported Ni2P nanotubes coated with FeP nanoparticles electrocatalyst (FeP@Ni2P/NF) for oxygen evolution reaction

Bimetallic phosphides have been widely investigated as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their efficient activity and environmental friendliness. While the reasonable design and controllable synthesis of bimetallic phosphide with typical nanostructure is still a great challenge. Hence, we put forward a novel and straightforward way for constructing FeP nanoparticles coated Ni₂P ultrathin nanotube arrays on the surface of Ni foil (FeP@Ni₂P/NF), which is synthesized through two steps of electrodeposition and subsequent in-situ phosphorization process. The obtained FeP@Ni₂P/NF shows excellent electrochemical activity for OER, and it only needs potential of 1.52 V vs. RHE to reach the current density of 50 mA cm⁻² in an alkaline media. The excellent electrocatalytic activity of FeP@Ni₂P/NF mainly benefits from: (i) the synergistic effect between FeP and Ni₂P promoting electron transfer; (ii) the formation of the unique 3D ultrathin nanotube arrays increasing the quantity of active sites and avoiding the agglomeration of catalysts during testing. In addition, the influence of reaction condition on the electrochemical activity for OER has also been investigated through altering the phosphorization temperature of precursor.