NiFe Nanoparticle Nest Supported on Graphene as Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Zhaoyuan Lyu; Sheng Yu; Maoyu Wang; Peter Tieu; Jiachi Zhou; Qiurong Shi; Dan Du; Zhenxing Feng; Xiaoqing Pan; Hongfei Lin; Shichao Ding; Qiang Zhang; Yuehe Lin

doi:10.1002/smll.202308278

NiFe Nanoparticle Nest Supported on Graphene as Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Small. 2024 Apr;20(15):e2308278. doi: 10.1002/smll.202308278. Epub 2023 Nov 27.

Authors

Zhaoyuan Lyu¹, Sheng Yu², Maoyu Wang³, Peter Tieu⁴, Jiachi Zhou⁵, Qiurong Shi¹, Dan Du¹, Zhenxing Feng³, Xiaoqing Pan⁶, Hongfei Lin⁷, Shichao Ding^{1

5}, Qiang Zhang^{1

2}, Yuehe Lin¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
² Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
³ School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
⁵ Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
⁶ Irvine Materials Research Institute (IMRI), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
⁷ The Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.

PMID: 38009756
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308278

Abstract

Designing cost-efffective electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) holds significant importance in the progression of clean energy generation and efficient energy storage technologies, such as water splitting and rechargeable metal-air batteries. In this work, an OER electrocatalyst is developed using Ni and Fe precursors in combination with different proportions of graphene oxide. The catalyst synthesis involved a rapid reduction process, facilitated by adding sodium borohydride, which successfully formed NiFe nanoparticle nests on graphene support (NiFe NNG). The incorporation of graphene support enhances the catalytic activity, electron transferability, and electrical conductivity of the NiFe-based catalyst. The NiFe NNG catalyst exhibits outstanding performance, characterized by a low overpotential of 292.3 mV and a Tafel slope of 48 mV dec^-1, achieved at a current density of 10 mA cm^- ². Moreover, the catalyst exhibits remarkable stability over extended durations. The OER performance of NiFe NNG is on par with that of commercial IrO₂ in alkaline media. Such superb OER catalytic performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect between the NiFe nanoparticle nests and graphene, which arises from their large surface area and outstanding intrinsic catalytic activity. The excellent electrochemical properties of NiFe NNG hold great promise for further applications in energy storage and conversion devices.

Keywords: NiFe; electrocatalyst; graphene; nanoparticle; oxygen evolution.

Abstract

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