Bimetallic oxyhydroxide as a high-performance water oxidation electrocatalyst under industry-relevant conditions

Yuan, J., Cheng, X., Lei, C., Yang, B., Li, Z., Luo, K., Koko Lam, K.H. , Lei, L., Hou, Y. and Ostrikov, K.K. (2021) Bimetallic oxyhydroxide as a high-performance water oxidation electrocatalyst under industry-relevant conditions. Engineering, 7(9), pp. 1306-1312. (doi: 10.1016/j.eng.2020.01.018)

Abstract

Developing high-performing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts under high-current operation conditions is critical for future commercial applications of alkaline water electrolysis for clean energy generation. Herein, we prepared a three-dimensional (3D) bimetallic oxyhydroxide hybrid grown on a Ni foam (NiFeOOH/NF) prepared by immersing Ni foam (NF) into Fe(NO3)3 solution. In this unique 3D structure, the NiFeOOH/NF hybrid was composed of crystalline Ni(OH)2 and amorphous FeOOH evenly grown on the NF surface. As a bimetallic oxyhydroxide electrocatalyst, the NiFeOOH/NF hybrid exhibited excellent catalytic activity, surpassing not only the other reported Ni–Fe based electrocatalysts, but also the commercial Ir/C catalyst. In situ electrochemical Raman spectroscopy demonstrated the active FeOOH and NiOOH phases involved in the OER process. Profiting from the synergy of Fe and Ni catalytic sites, the NiFeOOH/NF hybrid delivered an outstanding OER performance under challenging industrial conditions in a 10.0 mol∙L−1 KOH electrolyte at 80 °C, requiring potentials as small as 1.47 and 1.51 V to achieve the super-high catalytic current densities of 100 and 500 mA∙cm−2, respectively.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Y. Hou expresses appreciation for the assistance of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21922811, 21878270, and 21961160742), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LR19B060002), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020XZZX002-09), the Leading Innovative and Entrepreneur Team Introduction Program of Zhejiang (2019R01006), the Startup Foundation for Hundred-Talent Program of Zhejiang University. K. Ostrikov acknowledges partial assistance from the Australian Research Council.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lam, Dr Koko
• Authors: Yuan, J., Cheng, X., Lei, C., Yang, B., Li, Z., Luo, K., Koko Lam, K.H., Lei, L., Hou, Y., and Ostrikov, K.K.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Engineering
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2095-8099
• ISSN (Online): 2096-0026
• Published Online: 11 June 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Engineering 7(9):1306-1312
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License