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Synergistic improvement in electron transport and active sites exposure over RGO supported NiP/Fe4P for oxygen evolution reaction

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Abstract

Electrochemical water splitting is essential for enabling the storage of renewable electricity through the chemical bonds of hydrogen, while the efficiency of water splitting is low because of the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the anode. Herein, we demonstrate that the electrocatalytic water splitting efficiency could be significantly improved by constructing 2D reduced graphene oxide (RGO) supported NiP/Fe4P nanosheets as OER electrocatalysts through a facile wet chemical and subsequent in situ phosphating method. Impressively, using NiP/Fe4P/RGO composites, which are prone to displaying largely exposed surface active area and remarkably improved electrical conductivity to boost the electron transfer. As a consequence, the electrochemical measurements reveal that the NiP/Fe4P/RGO composites could enable water oxidation at an overpotential of 268 mV with a nominal current density of 10 mA cm−2, along with outstanding long-term electrochemical stability. This work presents an advanced electrocatalyst with both high electrocatalytic OER activity and durability, which will allow us to produce hydrogen at low voltages in scale-up potential with the assistance of cost-effective electrocatalysts.

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Funding

This work was financed by Xuzhou science and technology plan project of China (KC21294), The Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (19KJB150019), Youth Science and Technology Talents Enrollment Project of the Jiangsu Association of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou, 221018, People’s Republic of China

    Wenchang Zhuang, Zhao Li, Ming Song, Wenyou Zhu & Lin Tian

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  1. Wenchang Zhuang
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  2. Zhao Li
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  3. Ming Song
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  4. Wenyou Zhu
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  5. Lin Tian
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Correspondence to Lin Tian.

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Zhuang, W., Li, Z., Song, M. et al. Synergistic improvement in electron transport and active sites exposure over RGO supported NiP/Fe4P for oxygen evolution reaction. Ionics 28, 1359–1366 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-021-04396-0

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