Surface reconstruction of Fe(III)/NiS nanotubes for generating high-performance oxygen-evolution catalyst

Abstract

Designing high-performance and cost-effective oxygen-evolution electrocatalysts is highly required toward sustainable water electrolysis. Surface reconstruction is a promising strategy to realize the improvement of the oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) performance of transition metal-based electrocatalysts. Herein, we present a simple electrospinning-post treatment route to construct a novel Fe(III)/NiS electrocatalyst and investigate the key role of the surface reconstruction to significantly promote the OER performance. Owing to the unique tubular morphology and the formation of the highly efficient electrochemical active species of Ni(Fe)OOH during OER process, the prepared Fe(III)/NiS nanotubular catalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 264 mV at 10 mA cm−2, superior to the benchmark RuO2 and many other metal sulfide electrocatalysts. Furthermore, the catalyst also presents an excellent durability with no distinct activity reduction for over 70 h. This study offers a reliable surface reconstruction way to fabricate high-efficiency and outstanding durable OER electrocatalyst, enabling it promising prospect for water electrolysis with a reduced energy consumption.