Strongly-Interacted NiSe2 /NiFe2 O4 Architectures Built Through Selective Atomic Migration as Catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Zhiyu Shao; Qian Zhu; Xiyang Wang; Jian Wang; Xiaofeng Wu; Xiangdong Yao; Yimin A Wu; Keke Huang; Shouhua Feng

doi:10.1002/smll.202310266

Strongly-Interacted NiSe₂ /NiFe₂ O₄ Architectures Built Through Selective Atomic Migration as Catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Small. 2023 Dec 15:e2310266. doi: 10.1002/smll.202310266. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhiyu Shao¹, Qian Zhu¹, Xiyang Wang², Jian Wang³, Xiaofeng Wu¹, Xiangdong Yao⁴, Yimin A Wu², Keke Huang¹, Shouhua Feng¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, Jilin Provincial International Cooperation Key Laboratory of Advanced Inorganic Solid Functional Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Qianjin Street 2699, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China.
² Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
³ Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 2V3, Canada.
⁴ School of Environment and Sciences, and Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Queensland, 4111, Australia.

PMID: 38098346
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202310266

Abstract

The interactions between the catalyst and support are widely used in many important catalytic reactions but the construction of strong interaction with definite microenvironments to understand the structure-activity relationship is still challenging. Here, strongly-interacted composites are prepared via selective exsolution of active NiSe₂ from the host matrix of NiFe₂ O₄ (S-NiSe₂ /NiFe₂ O₄ ) taking advantage of the differences of migration energy, in which the NiSe₂ possessed both high dispersion and small size. The characteristics of spatially resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) coupled with analytical Mössbauer spectra for the surface and bulk electronic structures unveiled that this strongly interacted composite triggered more charge transfers from the NiSe₂ to the host of NiFe₂ O₄ while stabilizing the inherent atomic coordination of NiFe₂ O₄ . The obtained S-NiSe₂ /NiFe₂ O₄ exhibits overpotentials of 290 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This strategy is general and can be extended to other supported catalysts, providing a powerful tool for modulating the catalytic performance of strongly-interacted composites.

Keywords: composites; exsolution; inorganic solid; strong interaction.

Abstract

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