Pt embedded Ni3Se2@NiOOH core-shell dendrite-like nanoarrays on nickel as bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Abstract

Developing high-performance bifunctional catalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential to enhance water splitting efficiency for large-scale hydrogen production. Neither noble metal Pt nor transition metal compounds show satisfactory performances for both HER and OER simultaneously. Here, we prepared a three-dimensional Pt-Ni3Se2@NiOOH/NF (PNOF) hybrid catalyst via in-situ growth strategy. Benefitting from the self-supported structure and oxygen vacancies on the surface of NiOOH nanosheets, the PNOF electrode shows remarkably catalytic performance for dual HER and OER. The overall water electrolyzer using PNOF as anode and cathode can achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low voltage of 1.52 V with excellent long-term stability, which is superior to precious metal catalysts of Pt/C and Ir/C. This study provides a promising strategy for preparing bifunctional catalysts with high performance.