Borate-modulated amorphous NiFeB nanocatalysts as highly active and stable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

The design of non-precious metal borides electrocatalysts with high efficiency and high stability is critical but challenging for the development of electrochemical water oxidation. The morphology and electronic structure will largely determine the activity and stability for amorphous nickel-iron-based catalysts. Herein,we developed a series of amorphous borate-modulated NiFeB OER catalysts through a facile two-step method, including sodium borohydride reduction and low temperature annealing. Benefiting from the monopoly of core-shell nanoparticles and the modulation of the boron electronic structure, the obtained NiFeB NPs-300 exhibits an overpotential of 231 mV at 20 mA cm(-2) in 1 M KOH as well as excellent stability. This work might provide a new way to improve the performance of metal-borate electrocatalysts by modulating the boron electronic structure. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.