TEA driven C, N co-doped superfine Fe3O4 nanoparticles for efficient trifunctional electrode materials

Abstract

Poor conductivity is an obstacle that restricts the development of the electrochemistry performance of Fe3O4. In this work, a novel carbon and nitrogen co-doped ultrafine Fe3O4 nanoparticles (CN-Fe3O4) have been synthesized by triethylamine (TEA) induction and subsequent calcination. The addition of TEA could not only regulate the size of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, but also promote the formation of amorphous carbon layer. Well-designed CN-Fe3O4 heterostructures provide a highly interconnected porous conductive network, large heterogeneous interface area, large specific surface area and a large number of active sites, which greatly improve conductivity and promote electron transfer and electrolyte diffusion. The prepared CN-Fe3O4 electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 399.3 mF cm−2 and good cycling stability. Meanwhile, CN-Fe3O4 catalyst exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities, with overpotentials of 136 and 281 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2, respectively. This work provides a promising approach for the design of high-performance anode materials for supercapacitors and provides profound implications for the development of catalysts with bifunctional catalytic activity.