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Increased Oxygen Evolution Activity in pH-Universal Electrocatalyst: Urea-Modified NiFeCoCN Medium-Entropy Alloy
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  • Hongwei Lv,
  • Zhiguo Ye,
  • Feng Pei,
  • Xinyuan Peng,
  • Juntong Huang,
  • Duosheng Li,
  • Zhong Jin
Hongwei Lv
Nanchang Hangkong University
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Zhiguo Ye
Nanchang Hangkong University

Corresponding Author:yezhiguo2008@163.com

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Feng Pei
State Grid Jiangxi Electric Power Co Ltd Electric Power Research Institute
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Xinyuan Peng
Nanchang Hangkong University
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Juntong Huang
Nanchang Hangkong University
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Duosheng Li
Nanchang Hangkong University
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Zhong Jin
Nanjing University
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Abstract

The kinetic process of a slow oxygen evolution reaction (OER) always constrains the efficiency of overall water electrolysis for H2 production. In particular, nonprecious metal electrodes for the OER have difficulty simultaneously possessing good electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability in pH-universal media. In this work, urea is first used as a pore-forming agent and active C/N source to fabricate a nanoporous NiFeCoCN medium-entropy alloy (MEA) by high-temperature sintering based on the nanoscale Kirkendall effect. The NiFeCoCN MEA achieves an overpotential of 432 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a lower Tafel slope of 52.4 mV dec-1 compared to the IrO2/Ti electrode (58.6 mV dec-1) in a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. In a 1 M KOH solution, the NiFeCoCN MEA obtains an overpotential of 177 mV for 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 36.1 mV dec-1, which is better than IrO2/Ni foam. This work proves a novel strategy to design and prepare nanoporous MEA materials with desirable C/N species, which provides promising prospects for the industrial production of H2 energy.
17 May 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
16 Jun 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
24 Jun 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Jul 20231st Revision Received
18 Jul 2023Submission Checks Completed
18 Jul 2023Assigned to Editor
18 Jul 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Jul 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
23 Jul 2023Editorial Decision: Accept