Preparation of nickel-iron hydroxides by microorganism corrosion for efficient oxygen evolution

Huan Yang,Chungli Dong,Lanqian Gong,Junlei Wang,Kai Qi,Hongming Wang,Xingpeng Guo,Bao Yu Xia,Hongfang Liu

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18891-x

Abstract

Nickel–iron composites are efficient in catalyzing oxygen evolution. Here, we develop a microorganism corrosion approach to construct nickel–iron hydroxides. The anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria, using sulfate as the electron acceptor, play a significant role in the formation of iron sulfide decorated nickel–iron hydroxides, which exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance for oxygen evolution. Experimental and theoretical investigations suggest that the synergistic effect between oxyhydroxides and sulfide species accounts for the high activity. This microorganism corrosion strategy not only provides efficient candidate electrocatalysts but also bridges traditional corrosion engineering and emerging electrochemical energy technologies.

Highlights

Nickel–iron composites are efficient in catalyzing oxygen evolution
The color of Ni foam turns gradually from gray to black with the increase of corrosion time in the sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) solution, and the corrosion electrodes can be prepared with different scales (Supplementary Fig. 1)
Combined with the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis (Supplementary Fig. 4), the diffraction peaks at 33° and 46° for Ni (Fe)(OH)2–FeSx are related to α-Ni(OH)[2] (JCPDS: 38-0715), while the peaks at 28° and 58° for Ni(Fe)OOH–FeSx are corresponding to α-NiOOH (JCPDS: 27-0956)

Summary

Introduction

Nickel–iron composites are efficient in catalyzing oxygen evolution. Here, we develop a microorganism corrosion approach to construct nickel–iron hydroxides. Experimental and theoretical investigations suggest that the synergistic effect between oxyhydroxides and sulfide species accounts for the high activity This microorganism corrosion strategy provides efficient candidate electrocatalysts and bridges traditional corrosion engineering and emerging electrochemical energy technologies. The main corrosion products on carbon steel are iron sulfides and iron (hydroxy)oxides in the presence of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB)[28] These corrosion products containing metal sulfides/(hydro)oxides have potential activity for oxygen evolution[29,30,31]. Inspired by the natural microorganism-assisted corrosion behaviors occurred on pipeline and equipment in oil fields, here we demonstrate the preparation of highly active Ni–Fe composites by corrosion engineering in the presence of anaerobic SRB. This work provides an efficient alternative electrocatalyst and more importantly introduces a facile corrosion strategy, which would attract broad interest from multidisciplinary fields of natural biology, traditional metal corrosion and modern electrochemical energy technologies

Methods

Results

Conclusion