Atomically dispersed Co/Ni dual sites embedded in nitrogen-doped graphene for boosting oxygen evolution

Abstract

Exploring durable, inexpensive and high-activity electrocatalysts for efficient water oxidation is a challenge in current research. Transition metal single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been widely studied as economical electrocatalysts. However, the oxygen evolution performances of SACs are unsatisfactory because the strong bonding force between electron-donating intermediates and transition metal sites weakens the catalytic performance. Herein, atomically dispersed Co/Ni dual sites embedded in nitrogen-doped graphene (labeled as CoNi-DSA/NG) were successfully synthesized. The CoNi-DSA/NG catalyst exhibits superior oxygen evolution reaction kinetics, performance, and stability owing to the atomic dual-metal sites and their intense synergism. This study presents a prospective way to remarkably enhance the electrocatalytic performance of SACs by establishing heteronuclear dual-metal sites, and thus to expand their use into practical energy storing and converting techniques.