FeNi nanoparticle-modified reduced graphene oxide as a durable electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution

Clean energy transition and decarbonization through hydrogen technology hold a crucial role in revitalizing a sustainable world. The development of catalysts free of precious elements to facilitate the water splitting process in an electrolyser represents a key sustainable goal to lower the production cost of green hydrogen fuel, therefore improving its accessibility and affordability. Here we report a hybrid electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media with high stability and low overpotential, free of precious metals and rare elements. The hybrid catalyst is composed of laser-generated Fe₅₀Ni₅₀ nanoparticles (FeNi NPs) dispersed on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and deposited on FeNi layered double hydroxide (FeNi LDH) grown on Ni foam substrate. The prepared FeNi-rGO/FeNi/Ni foam hybrid catalyst requires an overpotential of only 234 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm², which is 37 mV lower than the tested commercial RuO₂ catalyst on Ni foam substrate. Besides, the hybrid catalyst is extremely robust; it stands 10,000 cycles of accelerated deterioration and runs for more than 1,300 h at a current density of 10 mA/cm² without performance decay.