Confined carburization-engineered synthesis of ultrathin nickel oxide/nickel heterostructured nanosheets for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Low-cost and highly effective transition metal oxides are being widely researched as one of the most promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, traditional transition metal oxides suffer from sluggish reaction kinetics due to their intrinsically poor electronic conductivity. Herein, we demonstrate a facile polydopamine-assisted carburization strategy for the confined synthesis of novel NiO_x/Ni ultrathin heterostructured nanosheets. Benefiting from the large exposed surface area and fast charge transfer, the obtained ultrathin NiO_x/Ni heterostructured nanosheets exhibit an overpotential of 358 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and a small Tafel slope of 51 mV dec⁻¹, outperforming other reported representative nickel oxide based materials and commercial Ir/C catalysts. In addition, a sustainable and efficient overall water-splitting electrolyzer integrated ultrathin NiO_x/Ni nanosheets with commercial Pt/C can be effectively and stably driven by solar cells.