MOF-Derived Bimetallic FeNi Selenide for an Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The sluggish four-electron-transfer kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) severely hinder the efficiency of hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Developing highly efficient catalysts to overcome their high overpotential has become a major challenge in this field. In this study, an MOF-derived Fe-Ni3Se2/Ni3Se4/Ni foam OER catalyst was successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method and room-temperature cation exchange using Ni-BPDC as the precursor. In a 1 M KOH electrolyte, the catalyst requires overpotentials of only 209 mV and 316 mV to reach current densities of 10 mA cm-2 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively, and exhibits stable catalytic operation at 100 mA cm-2 for 65 h. Fe doping not only optimizes the electronic structure of the material but also induces the formation of a Ni3Se2/Ni3Se4 heterojunction; this heterojunction effectively accelerates electron transfer, and the two effects synergistically enhance the kinetics of the OER. This work provides new experimental insights into the design and preparation of high-performance, low-cost electrocatalysts for water-splitting.