Ma Yingjun, Liu Hangning, Wang Lin, Sun Changhui, Gong Liangyu, Wang Jie, Zhang Xiaogang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Storage Technology, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China.
College of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, P. R. China.
ChemSusChem. 2025 Jan 14;18(2):e202400640. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202400640. Epub 2024 Sep 16.
Electrochemical water splitting holds promise for sustainable hydrogen production but restricted by the sluggish reaction kinetics at the anodic oxygen evolution. Herein, we present a room-temperature spontaneous corrosion strategy to convert inexpensive iron (Fe) on iron foam substrates into highly active and stable self-supporting nickel iron layered hydroxide (NiFe LDH) catalysts. The corrosion evolution mechanisms are elucidated combining ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques, demonstrating precise control over the concentration of Ni and reaction time to achieve controllable micro-structures of NiFe LDH. Taking advantage of the self-supporting morphology and hierarchical micro-/nano- structure, the NiFe LDH with optimized Ni concentration and reaction time exhibits significant small overpotentials of 160 mV and 200 mV for the OER at current densities of 10 mA cm and 100 mA cm respectively, showcasing excellent OER activities. Furthermore, this catalyst demonstrates superior reaction kinetics, high electrochemical stability, and excellent integral water splitting performance when coupled with a commercial Pt/C cathode. The energy-efficient, cost-effective, and scalable spontaneous corrosion strategy opens new avenues for the development of high-electrochemical-interface catalysts.
电化学水分解在可持续制氢方面具有潜力，但受限于阳极析氧反应动力学缓慢。在此，我们提出一种室温自发腐蚀策略，将泡沫铁基底上廉价的铁（Fe）转化为高活性且稳定的自支撑镍铁层状氢氧化物（NiFe LDH）催化剂。结合非原位扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）技术阐明了腐蚀演变机制，证明可精确控制镍浓度和反应时间以实现NiFe LDH的可控微观结构。利用自支撑形态和分级微/纳米结构，具有优化镍浓度和反应时间的NiFe LDH在电流密度分别为10 mA cm²和100 mA cm²时析氧反应的过电位显著较小，分别为160 mV和200 mV，展现出优异的析氧活性。此外，该催化剂与商业Pt/C阴极耦合时表现出卓越的反应动力学、高电化学稳定性和优异的整体水分解性能。这种节能、经济高效且可扩展的自发腐蚀策略为高电化学界面催化剂的开发开辟了新途径。
