Controlled deposition of trimetallic Fe-Ni-V oxides on nickel foam as high-performance electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

Enhancing the kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is imperative for the advancement of water splitting technology. A promising and pressing approach involves the exploration of effective and durable electrocatalysts derived from 3d transition metals. Herein, we present the fabrication of trimetallic FeNiVOx composite catalysts on nickel foam using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition approach for investigating the OER in 1 M KOH solution. The catalysts were deposited for 1, 2, and 3 h to optimize important parameters such as mass loading, morphology, and active sites, with the aim of achieving superior OER activity. The catalyst deposited for 3 h needed minimum overpotentials of 370 mV to attain high oxidation current density of 1 A cm- 2 . This outstanding catalytic performance can be attributed to the effective modulation of the electronic structure among Fe, Ni, and V centers, thereby enhancing the intrinsic active sites. The strong connection between the spherical features and the highly conductive nickel foam contributes to the excellent stability of FeNiVOx, enabling it to maintain its OER performance for up to 40 h. Furthermore, the designed catalysts may serve as promising alternatives to noble metal catalysts for the construction of affordable and clean energy water splitting devices.