A Bidirectional Nanomodification Approach for Synthesizing Hierarchically Architected Mixed Oxide Electrodes for Oxygen Evolution

Qian Rong, Jingshan S. Du, Xinqi Chen*, Qingju Liu*, Vinayak P. Dravid*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Several transition-metal oxides and hydroxides based on earth-abundant elements, such as Fe, Ni, and Co, have emerged as a new generation of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts due to their low cost, favorable activity, and multifunctional behavior. However, the relatively complicated surface structuring methods, high Tafel slope, and low stability hinder their practical applications to replace the conventional Ir- and Ru-based catalysts. Herein, a strategy to construct hierarchically architected mixed oxides on conductive substrates (e.g., ITO and Ni foam) via a nanosheet (NS) deposition and subsequent bidirectional nanomodification approach, with metal salts in an aprotic polar solvent (e.g., acetone) as the primary modifying reactants is reported. This strategy is used to prepare NiO-based NSs with nanopores, nanobranches, or a combination of both, containing up to four transition metal elements. Record-low Tafel slope (22.3 mV·dec−1, ≈lowest possible by computational predictions) and week-long continuous operation durability are achieved by FeMnNi-O NSs supported on Ni foams. Taken together, properly designed hierarchical mixed oxide electrodes may provide a cost-effective route to generating high, reliable, and stable OER catalytic activities, paving the way for both new electrocatalyst design and practical water-splitting devices.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number2007287
JournalSmall
Volume17
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 28 2021

Funding

Q.R. and J.S.D. contributed equally to this work. The authors thank Saman Shafaie (Northwestern University) for help on mass spectrometry. This work made use of the EPIC and Keck-II facilities of the Northwestern University's NUANCE Center and IMSERC, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. Q.R. was supported by a China Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51562038), an Applied Basic Research Key Project of Yunnan (2017FB086), and a Key Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan (2018FY001(-011)).

Keywords

  • electrocatalyst
  • hierarchical structure
  • oxides
  • oxygen evolution reaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Biotechnology
  • Biomaterials

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Bidirectional Nanomodification Approach for Synthesizing Hierarchically Architected Mixed Oxide Electrodes for Oxygen Evolution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this