Nitrogen-incorporation activates NiFeO
x catalysts for efficiently boosting oxygen evolution activity and stability of BiVO
4 photoanodes.
Nat Commun 2021;
12:6969. [PMID:
34845221 PMCID:
PMC8630083 DOI:
10.1038/s41467-021-27299-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Developing low-cost and highly efficient catalysts toward the efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly desirable for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, we demonstrated that N-incorporation could efficiently activate NiFeOx catalysts for significantly enhancing the oxygen evolution activity and stability of BiVO4 photoanodes, and the photocurrent density has been achieved up to 6.4 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), AM 1.5 G). Systematic studies indicate that the partial substitution of O sites in NiFeOx catalysts by low electronegative N atoms enriched the electron densities in both Fe and Ni sites. The electron-enriched Ni sites conversely donated electrons to V sites of BiVO4 for restraining V5+ dissolution and improving the PEC stability, while the enhanced hole-attracting ability of Fe sites significantly promotes the oxygen-evolution activity. This work provides a promising strategy for optimizing OER catalysts to construct highly efficient and stable PEC water splitting devices.
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