Surface reconstruction engineering of amorphous Ni-Fe phosphate electrocatalyst for highly stable alkaline water splitting

Abstract

The development of highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts is crucial for the practical application of water splitting in renewable energy production. The Ni-Fe Phosphate electrocatalyst was synthesized through a simple and scalable electrodeposition method. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the surface reconstruction engineering of an amorphous Ni-Fe phosphate electrocatalyst for enhancing its performance in alkaline water splitting. The reconstructed electrocatalyst exhibits significantly improved activity in alkaline water splitting. As expected, a low cell voltage of 1.86V was used to drive water splitting at 300 mA cm⁻², while the electrodes maintained high stability during 180 h continuous full water splitting at 70 mA cm⁻². This work provides insights into the mechanisms underlying the enhanced performance of the reconstructed Ni-Fe Phosphate based electrocatalyst and offers a promising approach for the design of advanced electrocatalysts for water splitting.