Currently, hydrogen fuel spearheads as a plausible alternative fuel to fossil fuels. Water electrolysis, an endergonic process used to split water into O2 and H2, is the main vector by which renewable hydrogen fuel can be produced, however it is limited as a global solution because of the expense in energy and high cost of current electrocatalysts. Herein we present a study on earth abundant electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER), the rate limiting step for water splitting, as alternatives to the current noble metal-based catalysts. In this project we have successfully controlled the metallic ratio in the syntheses of both Prussian Blue Analogues (PBAs) precursor and nanocarbide product with varying Fe, Co, and Ni bimetallic and trimetallic composition using a novel top-down synthetic technique. Our aim is to uncover an optimum ratio that maximizes electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability in these materials. These materials were characterized using pXRD, XPS, XRF, SEM/TEM, and the OER performance (activity and stability) were analyzed using CV (cyclic voltammetry). Current results indicate that these novel earth-abundant nanomaterials are highly electrocatalytically active and can even outperform the IrO2/RuO2 state-of-the-art.

Stiochiometric control in Earth-abundant Bi- and Tri-metallic nanocarbides for OER electrocatalytic enhancement

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ACS Spring 2023

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