Strongly-Interacted NiSe2/NiFe2O4 Architectures Built Through Selective Atomic Migration as Catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The interactions between the catalyst and support are widely used in many important catalytic reactions but the construction of strong interaction with definite microenvironments to understand the structure-activity relationship is still challenging. Here, strongly-interacted composites are prepared via selective exsolution of active NiSe2 from the host matrix of NiFe2O4 (S-NiSe2/NiFe2O4) taking advantage of the differences of migration energy, in which the NiSe2 possessed both high dispersion and small size. The characteristics of spatially resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) coupled with analytical M & ouml;ssbauer spectra for the surface and bulk electronic structures unveiled that this strongly interacted composite triggered more charge transfers from the NiSe2 to the host of NiFe2O4 while stabilizing the inherent atomic coordination of NiFe2O4. The obtained S-NiSe2/NiFe2O4 exhibits overpotentials of 290 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This strategy is general and can be extended to other supported catalysts, providing a powerful tool for modulating the catalytic performance of strongly-interacted composites.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the construction of strongly-interacted composites through selective exsolution of active materials and reveals their electronic structure characteristics using spatially resolved techniques, exhibiting high performance in the oxygen evolution reaction.