Ce-Modified Ni(OH)2 Nanoflowers Supported on NiSe2 Octahedra Nanoparticles as High-Efficient Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst

Exploring and developing high-efficiency electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is desirable yet challenging for cost-effective transformation of renewable electricity into fuels and chemicals. Herein, a self-supported electrode of nanoflower-like Ce-modified Ni(OH)(2) grown on high-conductivity NiSe2 octahedra nanoparticles is designed and fabricated for the first time. By virtue of i) the high conductivity of the NiSe2 support for favorable electron transfer; ii) the open porous structure from the nanoflower-like Ce-modified Ni(OH)(2) for beneficial mass transport; iii) Ce doping for efficiently optimizing the energetics for OER intermediates based on density functional theory simulations; and iv) Ce(OH)(3) embedding for efficacious oxygen ion exchange and electronic transmission, the electrode exhibits remarkable OER activity with a very low overpotential of 158 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) and Tafel slope of 27 mV dec(-1), which outperform almost all OER electrocatalysts.

Automated summary

A high-efficiency electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been designed and fabricated, showing remarkable activity with very low overpotential and Tafel slope, surpassing almost all OER electrocatalysts.