Effect of Different Transition Metal Ion Dopants on the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Activity of Ni(OH)2
摘要
Ni(OH)2 is considered as one of most promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts owing to its low cost and earth abundance. Nevertheless, the low conductivity and poor intrinsic activity of Ni(OH)2 seriously restricts its industrial application. Meanwhile, the relationship between the structure, OER activity of Ni(OH)2-based catalysts, and transition-metal dopants is still unclear. To meet above challenges, a series of Ni(OH)2–M (M = Fe, Al, Co, Cr) was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The experimental results confirmed that the incorporation of different metal elements into Ni(OH)2 can not only alter the morphology and modulate electronic structure but also improve the intrinsic catalytic activity. Particularly, the Ni(OH)2–Fe exhibits the best OER activity, requiring 252 mV and 288 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, with a Tafel slope of 39.1 mV dec−1 and superior stability (50 mA cm−2 for 30 h). This work provides a pathway to understand the relationship between structure, OER activity of Ni(OH)2-based catalysts, and incorporation of transition-metal elements, which facilitates the development of advanced OER electrocatalysts.