Organic Small Molecule Activates Transition Metal Foam for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for electrochemical water splitting.
• Existing catalysts often face challenges with cost, efficiency, and durability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, highly efficient, and durable electrocatalyst for OER.
• To explore the use of organic small molecules to activate transition metal foams.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing hexabromobenzene (HBB) to activate commercial Ni, Fe, and NiFe foams.
• Employing a bromine-induced solid-phase migration process to form metal nanomeshes embedded in graphene-like films (M-NM@G).
• Characterizing the nanostructure and evaluating OER performance.

Main Results:

• HBB facilitated the formation of a graphene-like network on metal foam via C-Br bond cleavage and C-C linkage.
• In-situ formation of transition metal nanomeshes within graphene-like films (M-NM@G).
• The NiFe-NM@G catalyst exhibited a low overpotential of 208 mV at 100 mA cm⁻² for OER, demonstrating top-tier performance and stability.

Conclusions:

• A facile and general strategy was demonstrated for transforming bulk transition metals into nanostructured electrocatalysts using organic small molecules.
• This approach offers a new pathway for integrating organic small molecules into energy technologies like water splitting.