Soft Template-Based Synthesis of Mesoporous Phosphorus- and Boron-Codoped NiFe-Based Alloys for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Controlling the morphology, composition, and crystalline phase of mesoporous nonnoble metal catalysts is essential for improving their performance. Herein, well-defined P- and B-codoped NiFe alloy mesoporous nanospheres (NiFeB-P MNs) with an adjustable Ni/Fe ratio and large mesopores (11 nm) are synthesized via soft-template-based chemical reduction and a subsequent phosphine-vapor-based phosphidation process. Earth-abundant NiFe-based materials are considered promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) because of their low cost and high intrinsic catalytic activity. The resulting NiFeB-P MNs exhibit a low OER overpotential of 252 mV at 10 mA cm−2, which is significantly smaller than that of B-doped NiFe MNs (274 mV) and commercial RuO2 (269 mV) in alkaline electrolytes. Thus, this work highlights the practicality of designing mesoporous nonnoble metal structures and the importance of incorporating P in metallic-B-based alloys to modify their electronic structure for enhancing their intrinsic activity.