Insight into the effect of P on Co3O4/NiO heterostructure for efficient alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

The development of practical and economical electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a research hotspot for boosting the productivity of electrochemical water decomposition. Cobalt-nickel oxide catalysts have aroused wild discussion in this field. However, poor conductivity and unsuitable binding strength with the intermediates lead to their inferior OER activity. The introduction of hybrids and defects into such semiconductor materials to modulate electron configuration may be a cost-effective strategy for the design of electrocatalysts. Here, P doped cell-shaped cobalt-nickel oxide (P-Co3O4/NiO) heterojunction catalysts have been designed. Benefitting from the abundant heterogeneous interface, elevated defect sites and the resulting numerous low coordination atoms, the optimal catalyst showed excellent electrocatalytic performance and durability in alkaline solutions. As anode electrode, only 283 mV overpotential was demanded to achieve 10 mA·cm−2 for OER. This study provides an effective pathway for adjusting electronic structure of Co-Ni oxide heterostructures by using P atom doping.