Nanosized LiNi1−xFexPO4 embedded in a mesoporous carbon matrix for high-performance electrochemical water splitting

Abstract

Splitting water to produce oxygen is the key technique in the development of various energy conversion processes including metal–air batteries, fuel cells and water splitting. Herein, for the first time, we report a mesoporous LiNi_1−xFe_xPO₄@C (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nano-structure as a highly effective catalyst for electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) through a spray dry method. In particular, the LiNi_1−xFe_xPO₄@C (3 : 1) shows superior activity to those state-of-the-art noble metal catalysts (e.g., RuO₂ and IrO₂), which only needs an overpotential of 311 mV to afford a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and maintains its high catalytic activity after 1000 cycles.