Highly electrocatalytic activity of NixFey nanoporous for oxygen evolution reaction in water splitting

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER), an important reaction involved in water splitting and rechargeable batteries, has drawn massive attention to clean energy generation, conversion, and efficient storage technologies during the last decades. However, noble metal-based highly active electrocatalysts for OER have been employed for water splitting, whereas their excessive cost and lethargic kinetics impede their usage. Bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) have appeared as an essential class of catalysts suggesting higher catalytic efficiencies. Nickel/Iron (NiFe)-based compounds have been known as active OER catalysts by enormous commercial interest owing to their interesting mechanical, electrical, and corrosion-resistant properties. In this study, we prepared various NixFey nanoporous by reducing Ni and Fe precursors using a NaBH4 reducing agent. The obtained catalysts show the high BET surface areas of 108.18, 122.67, 157.14, 166.65, and 244.12 (m2/g) for Ni, Ni3Fe1, Ni1Fe1, Ni1Fe3, and Fe samples; respectively. Among synthesized catalysts, it is obvious that Ni3Fe1 exhibits a good OER performance with an overpotential of 220 mV or 346 mV at a current density of 10 mA. cm−2 or 50 mA. cm−2 and stability for 60,000 s due to the interaction between Ni and Fe and the exposure of more active surface area and low charge transfer electron resistance of the catalyst. This cheap and highly efficient Ni3Fe1 electrocatalyst can be a promising candidate for the OER in water splitting for producing green fuel hydrogen.