Facile synthesis of FeNi alloy-supported N-doped Mo2C hollow nanospheres for the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The rapid depletion of fossil fuels results in significant environmental pollution. Consequently, researching environmentally friendly and cost-effective electrocatalysts with exceptional oxygen evolution reaction (OER) capabilities holds immense importance in enhancing the efficient utilization of resources. In this paper, a straightforward and cost-effective method was employed to produce Fe-Ni alloy-supported N-doped carbon hollow nanospheres (FeNi/Mo2C/NC) using self-assembled molybdenum dopamine spheres (Mo-PDA-HS) as a substrate. The inclusion of iron and nickel addressed the issue of aggregation and collapse in Mo-PDA-HS nanostructures at high temperatures, while adjusting the electronic structure of the composites to achieve efficient OER activity. The composite displayed a low overpotential (η10 mA = 304 mV) and a minimal Tafel slope (41.8 mV/dec-1). This study introduces a simple strategy for constructing structurally robust and non-aggregating Mo2C nanostructures, along with a direct method for designing cost-effective and high-performance catalysts for OER.