NiCo2O4 nanowires@MnOx nanoflakes supported on stainless steel mesh with superior electrocatalytic performance for anion exchange membrane water splitting

A core-shell structured catalyst with NiCo2O4 nanowires as the core and MnOx nanoflakes as the shell is synthesized and deposited on a stainless steel mesh, and applied in anion exchange membrane water splitting. This unique structured catalyst allows the core material, NiCo2O4 nanowires, to serve as the electrically conductive skeleton, and the shell material, MnOx nanoflakes, to be the electroactive sites. As a result, the catalyst exhibits a superior electrocatalytic activity (eta = 342 mV @ 10 mA cm(-2)) toward the oxygen evolution reaction. The water splitting cell with the catalyst can be operated at 200 mA cm(-2) with an overpotential of about 500 mV and stably run for 100 h without significant degradation. The results demonstrated here shows that the NiCo2O4@ MnOx is a promising candidate for the oxygen evolution reaction in the alkaline media.