Activating the Oxygen Evolution Performance of NiCuFe by Phosphorus Doping.

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for electrochemical water splitting and hydrogen production.
• The kinetic sluggishness of OER hinders efficient hydrogen generation.
• Developing efficient and stable OER electrocatalysts is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a self-supported 3D porous NiCuFeP catalyst for enhanced OER performance.
• To investigate the catalytic activity, efficiency, and stability of the developed catalyst.
• To elucidate the OER mechanism using computational methods.

Main Methods:

• One-step dynamic hydrogen bubble templated electrodeposition.
• Electrochemical characterization in 1.0 M KOH.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• The optimized NiCuFeP catalyst achieved a low overpotential of 236 mV at 10 mA cm⁻².
• A small Tafel slope of 48.2 mV dec⁻¹ was recorded, indicating efficient kinetics.
• The catalyst demonstrated remarkable stability for 100 h at 50 mA cm⁻².

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D porous NiCuFeP catalyst exhibits outstanding OER performance and stability.
• DFT calculations provide atomic-level insights into the enhanced catalytic mechanism.
• This work presents a generalizable strategy for designing effective OER electrocatalysts.