One step synthesis of Fe4.4Ni17.6Se16 coupled nise foam as self-supported, highly efficient and durable oxygen evolution electrode

Abstract

The development of cost-effective, durable and high-efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is an extremely critical technology for the large-scale industrial water electrolysis. Here, a new strategy is proposed to significantly enhance the electrocatalytic activity by forming a hybrid electrode of NiSe and Fe4.4Ni17.6Se16 through direct selenization of porous iron-nickel (FeNi) alloy foam via thermal selenization process. The obtained self-supported Fe4.4Ni17.6Se16/NiSe hybrid (FNS/NiSe) foam displays outstanding durability and remarkable catalytic activity in 1.0 M KOH with low overpotentials of 242 and 282 mV to achieve the current densities of 100 and 500 mA cm−2, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, it exceeds most of the reported OER electrocatalysts in alkaline electrolytes.