In Situ Fabrication of Heterostructure on Nickel Foam with Tuned Composition for Enhancing Water-Splitting Performance

Xuerong Zheng; Yiqi Zhang; Hui Liu; Dongju Fu; Jianjun Chen; Jihui Wang; Cheng Zhong; Yida Deng; Xiaopeng Han; Wenbin Hu

doi:10.1002/smll.201803666

In Situ Fabrication of Heterostructure on Nickel Foam with Tuned Composition for Enhancing Water-Splitting Performance

Small. 2018 Dec;14(50):e1803666. doi: 10.1002/smll.201803666. Epub 2018 Oct 11.

Authors

Xuerong Zheng^{1

2}, Yiqi Zhang¹, Hui Liu³, Dongju Fu⁴, Jianjun Chen⁴, Jihui Wang¹, Cheng Zhong^{1

2}, Yida Deng¹, Xiaopeng Han^{1

2

4

5}, Wenbin Hu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
² Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Engineering Laboratory of Functional Optoelectronic Crystalline Materials of Hebei Province, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300132, P. R. China.
⁴ Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.

PMID: 30307691
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201803666

Abstract

Exploiting economical and high-performance bifunctional electrocatalysts toward hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) is at the heart of overall water splitting in large-scale application. Herein, an in situ and stepwise strategy for synthesizing core-shell Ni₃ (S_1-_x Se_x )₂ @NiOOH (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanoarray heterostructures on nickel foam with tailored compositions for enhancing water-splitting performance is reported. A series of Ni₃ (S_1-_x Se_x )₂ nanostructures is firstly grown on nickel foam via an in situ reaction in a heated polyol solution system. Ni₃ (S_1-_x Se_x )₂ @NiOOH nanocomposites are subsequently prepared via electrochemical oxidation and the oxidation degree is systematically investigated by varying the oxidation time. Benefitting from the vertical standing architecture, abundant exposed active sites, and synergetically interfacial enhancement, Ni₃ (S_0.25 Se_0.75 )₂ @NiOOH heterojunctions with electrochemical polarization for 8 h exhibit superior HER and OER behaviors, achieving a water-splitting current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at a small overpotential of 320 mV as well as boosted reaction kinetics and long-term stability. This work should shed light on the controllable synthesis of metal-based hybrid materials and provide a promising direction for developing the highest-performing electrocatalysts based on interfacial and heterostructural regulation for advanced electrochemical energy conversion technologies.

Keywords: core-shell; electrocatalysis; heterostructure; nanocomposite; water splitting.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't