Ti-MXene/α-Ni(OH)2 Nanostructures as High-Performance Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Herein, the strategy of homogenous inclusion of nanoparticles within the surface and interlayers of 2D MXenes is established to achieve effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. A greater quantity of nano-sized Ni(OH)₂ particles is uniformly anchored on multilayered accordion-like nanosheets of Ti₃C₂T_x. The strong interconnection of Ni(OH)₂ on Ti₃C₂T_x promotes synergistic effects and improves electron transfer properties alongside the intrinsic OER activity. The Ti₃C₂T_x-Ni(OH)₂-4 demonstrates remarkable OER activity by exhibiting a lower overpotential (235.54 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) in alkaline conditions. Increased electrochemical active surface area (2.925 mF cm⁻²), lower charge transfer resistance, lowering the reaction barrier, and stabilizing/converting essential intermediates via the Ti₃C₂T_x-Ni(OH)₂ electrocatalyst synergistically improve OER activity. The effective interaction between Ti₃C₂T_x and Ni(OH)₂ in Ti₃C₂T_x-Ni(OH)₂ improves stability during long-term operations. Moreover, a Ti₃C₂T_x-Ni(OH)₂-4||Pt/C cell has 1.7V at 10 mA cm⁻¹ . It can be deduced that the usage of Ni(OH)₂ as an electrocatalyst together with Ti₃C₂T_x can provide noteworthy water-splitting properties.