Hierarchical Fe-doped Ni3Se4 ultrathin nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Developing highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is critical to the cost-effective generation of clean fuels. Transition-metal selenides have been proposed to be OER catalyst alternatives to noble metal based catalysts, but generally exhibit limited electrocatalytic activity. We here report hierarchical Fe-doped Ni₃Se₄ ((Ni,Fe)₃Se₄) ultrathin nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for OER in alkaline electrolytes. The preparation involves a solvothermal synthesis and a topotactic conversion process. The prepared hierarchical (Ni,Fe)₃Se₄ ultrathin nanosheets show abundant and accessible catalytically active sites, facile charge transfer and a high specific surface area. Relative to the Ni₃Se₄ nanosheets, the as-prepared (Ni,Fe)₃Se₄ ultrathin nanosheets show a higher current density and a lower Tafel slope towards the OER. Remarkably, hierarchical (Ni,Fe)₃Se₄ ultrathin nanosheets supported on Ni foam exhibit an electrocatalytic OER with a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at a low overpotential of 225 mV and a small Tafel slope of about 41 mV dec⁻¹. This study establishes (Ni,Fe)₃Se₄ ultrathin nanosheets as an efficient electrocatalyst for the OER that can be used in the fields of metal–air batteries and water splitting for hydrogen production.