Selenium-enriched hollow NiCo2O4/NiO heterostructured nanocages as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Finding clean, sustainable, and environmentally friendly technologies is especially crucial in addressing both energy and environmental challenges. To accelerate the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and to overcome the obstacle of high energy consumption, exploring high-performance electrocatalysts is imperative to maximize the practical applicability of water splitting. Developing electrocatalyst through strategic surface modifications represents a significant approach for the construction of active catalytic centers. In the present work, we successfully synthesized selenium-incorporated hollow NiCo₂O₄/NiO heterostructured nanocages as electrocatalysts for the OER by precisely controlling the structure and composition of the material. The findings demonstrated that the surface-reconstructed hollow 5 wt% Se–NiCo₂O₄/NiO heterostructured nanocages resulted in an increased number of active sites through interfacial engineering. Benefiting from the structural control, mass transport was further expedited and due to increased conductivity, accelerated the charge transfer processes within the system. The electrocatalyst exhibited remarkable activity for the OER and displayed a low overpotential (η = 288 mV) at a current density (j) of 10 mA cm⁻², small Tafel slope (66.7 mV dec⁻¹) and better stability. This work offers a viable and adaptable method for fabricating a range of functional coordinated MOF compounds that are capable of utilization across diverse energy applications, including storage, conversion and environmental purposes.