Issue 5, 2020

One-step electrodeposition of NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid nanosheet arrays as highly active and robust electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Non-precious transition metal oxide-based materials have shown a promising prospect as electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we report a template-free and annealing-free one-step electrodeposition approach for the in situ fabrication of composition- and morphology-controllable NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid and NixFe3−xO4 nanosheet arrays (NSAs) on different conducting substrates as highly active and robust oxygen-evolving electrocatalysts. The optimal NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid NSA electrodeposited on nickel foam requires low overpotentials of only 218 and 262 mV to deliver OER current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively, with a small Tafel slope of 45 mV dec−1, which are the best among the reported Ni–Fe oxide-based OER electrocatalysts. The NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid NSA also exhibits robust stability under the OER conditions, showing no decline in the catalytic activity after a continuous oxygen-evolving test conducted at current densities ranging from 10 to 500 mA cm−2 for a total of 220 h. The excellent electrocatalytic OER performance of the electrodeposited NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid NSA could be attributed to its vertically aligned nanosheet morphology providing a large electrochemically active surface area, better matched Fermi energy of NixFe3−xO4 with the O2 production potential and faster electron transfer due to proper Ni incorporation, and low interfacial resistance and robust contact between the NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid and the substrate due to in situ electrodeposition. This work provides a facile (around 3 min of electrodeposition) and low-cost synthesis strategy that could be applicable for the fabrication of nanostructures of various metal oxides or metal oxide/metal hybrids for different applications.

Graphical abstract: One-step electrodeposition of NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid nanosheet arrays as highly active and robust electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Jan 2020
Accepted
27 Jan 2020
First published
27 Jan 2020

Green Chem., 2020,22, 1710-1719

One-step electrodeposition of NixFe3−xO4/Ni hybrid nanosheet arrays as highly active and robust electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

D. Li, S. Liu, G. Ye, W. Zhu, K. Zhao, M. Luo and Z. He, Green Chem., 2020, 22, 1710 DOI: 10.1039/D0GC00168F

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