Surface nitriding to improve the catalytic performance of FeNi3 for the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Solving the problem of the slow kinetic process of the oxygen evolution reaction by electrocatalysts has attracted extensive attention. Here, we report an enhancement of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalytic activity via the surface nitriding of FeNi₃ nanosheets for the formation of amorphous Fe/Ni–N_x species. The optimized Fe/Ni–N_x@FeNi₃ nanosheets exhibit an overpotential of 251 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and an excellent durability of 210 h. The superior electrocatalytic performance is attributed to the multi-component active sites, where the Fe/Ni–N_x outer layer inhibits metal active site leaching, and the catalyst undergoes dynamic reconfiguration during the OER.