Self-assembled Cu-Ni bimetal oxide 3D in-plane epitaxial structures for highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

To improve the catalytic activity of copper based electrode for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), double cathodes liquid plasma discharge (DC-LPD) method was developed to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) nest-like structures electrode on the nickel foam (NF). The CuO-NiO/NF electrode obtained through annealing the in-plane epitaxial Cu(OH)2-Ni2O3H/NF in the oven, exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activities for the oxygen evolution reaction at a low overpotential of 319 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA/cm2. The electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of CuO-NiO/NF is over 2 times larger than that of Cu(OH)2-Ni2O3H/NF electrode. The synergistic effort between Cu and Ni makes the CuO-NiO/NF electrode a superior electrocatalyst with improved activity and stability as compared to the single NiO/NF electrode.