Amorphous Metallic NiFeP: A Conductive Bulk Material Achieving High Activity for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Both Alkaline and Acidic Media

The intrinsic catalytic activity at 10 mA cm⁻² for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is currently working out at overpotentials higher than 320 mV. A highly efficient electrocatalyst should possess both active sites and high conductivity; however, the loading of powder catalysts on electrodes may often suffer from the large resistance between catalysts and current collectors. This work reports a class of bulk amorphous NiFeP materials with metallic bonds from the viewpoint of electrode design. The materials reported here perfectly combine high macroscopic conductivity with surface active sites, and can be directly used as the electrodes with active sites toward high OER activity in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes. Specifically, a low overpotential of 219 mV is achieved at the geometric current density 10 mA cm⁻² in an alkaline electrolyte, with the Tafel slope of 32 mV dec⁻¹ and intrinsic overpotential of 280 mV. Meanwhile, an overpotential of 540 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² is attained in an acidic electrolyte and stable for over 30 h, which is the best OER performance in both alkaline and acidic media. This work provides a different angle for the design of high-performance OER electrocatalysts and facilitates the device applications of electrocatalysts.

A class of bulk amorphous NiFeP materials that perfectly combines high macroscopic conductivity with surface active sites is developed toward high activity for oxygen evolution reaction in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes. The synergistic effect of coordinatively unsaturated Ni, Fe, and P constitutes the highly active sites, while the high macroscopic conductivity facilitates the charge transfer from catalyst surface to current collector.

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