Monolithic nanoporous Ni[sbnd]Fe alloy by dealloying laser processed Ni[sbnd]Fe[sbnd]Al as electrocatalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

In this paper, monolithic nanoporous NiFe electrocatalyst is developed by dealloying a NiFeAl alloy, fabricated by a laser-based manufacturing method, as the electrocatalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The nanoporous NiFe alloy displays an improved electrochemical performance by exhibiting an OER current density of 100 mA/cm2 at 442 mV overpotential in the 1 M KOH aqueous solution, which is better than that of laser processed bulk NiFe alloy (464 mV). The structures, crystallinities, and chemical compositions of the nanoporous NiFe electrocatalyst are characterized by SEM, XRD and EDXS. With an activity comparable to the electrocatalysts reported to date, the monolithic nanoporous NiFe electrodes are also highly flexible in mechanical configurations, due to the combined advantages of both laser and dealloying processes, which provide new options for OER electrode design.