Facilely Tuning Porous NiCo2O4 Nanosheets with Metal Valence-State Alteration and Abundant Oxygen Vacancies as Robust Electrocatalysts Towards Water Splitting

Abstract

Great efforts in developing clean electrochemical water splitting technology leads to the rational design and synthesis of highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with low overpotential and fast reaction kinetics. Herein, we focus on the role that morphology and composition play in the OER performance to rationally design freestanding 3D porous NiCo2O4 nanosheets with metal valence states alteration and abundant oxygen vacancies as robust electrocatalysts towards water splitting. Besides metal valence-state alteration, surface modification regarding the evolution of oxygen vacancies is facilely realized upon the sodium borohydride treatment, which is beneficial for the enhanced OER performance. Taking advantage of the porous nanostructures and abundant surface activity sites with high reactivity, the resultant nanostructures exhibit excellent OER activity and stability in alkaline electrolytes that outperform that of pristine NiCo2O4 and commercial RuO2, thus holding great potential for the water splitting. Freestanding porous NiCo2O4 nanosheets with metal valence-state alteration and abundant oxygen vacancies were easily synthesized by electrodeposition following reduction treatment. The material may serve as a robust electrocatalyst for water splitting.