Loading of individual Se-doped Fe2O3-decorated Ni/NiO particles on carbon cloth: facile synthesis and efficient electrocatalysis for the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The synthesis of competitive, affordable and sustainable electrocatalysts via simple and scalable methods is highly desirable for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Usually, expensive, complex, time-consuming methods are applied to prepared suitable electrocatalysts for the OER. In contrast, a single-step thermal method is simple and inexpensive. Nickel and iron-based composite materials are potential candidates as OER catalysts. Accordingly, herein, Se-doped Fe₂O₃-decorated Ni/NiO particles on carbon cloth (Se-Fe₂O₃@Ni/NiO/CC) were synthesized via a facile and scalable one-step thermal method. The individual Se-Fe₂O₃@Ni/NiO particles were accommodated in holes in the carbon fibers of CC. The optimized Se-Fe₂O₃@Ni/NiO/CC-2 sample exhibited an outstanding OER performance with an overpotential of 205 mV at the current density 10 mA cm⁻², small Tafel slope of 36 mV dec⁻¹, and good stability in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. The outstanding catalytic performance was mainly attributed to the heterointerfaces between Se-Fe₂O₃ and Se–Ni/NiO. Moreover, the accommodation of the Se-Fe₂O₃@Ni/NiO particles in the holes of CC restricted the aggregation of the particles, and CC provided a conductive substrate for the OER process. Thus, this work provides a simple, scalable and effective strategy for designing and engineering of outstanding electrocatalysts for the OER.