Synthesis of ultrafine Fe-doped Ni3Se4 nanoparticles on tube-like N-doped carbon as a robust electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) present a wealth of possibilities for functional materials, courtesy of vast tunable compositions to tailor the physical and chemical properties of their derivatives. In this work, NiFe-BTC(H ₂SeO ₃ ) MOF precursors with varied Fe:Ni ratios are synthesized via a modified hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF)-templated strategy. The pre-introduced selenium source in the MOF framework provide the advantages of confined growth of FeNi-selenides during the calcination process. As a result, a highly active and stable, ultrafine Fe-doped Ni ₃Se ₄ nanoparticles (4.3 nm) loaded on hollow tube-like N-doped carbon is synthesized as an advanced electrocatalyst for oxgen evolution reaction (OER). Furthermore, the Fe:Ni ratio in catalyst also play a crucial role for efficient electrochemical OER applications. Remarkably, the optimized 2Fe-Ni ₃Se ₄ @NC catalyst exhibited impressive OER activity with a low overpotential of 272 mV to achieve a current density of 10 cm mA ^-² and exceptional stability for 110 h at 20 mA cm ⁻² tested in a 1.0 M KOH solution. This proposed strategy presents a facile approach for the rational design of catalyst composition, and can be extended to prepare other energy conversion and storage materials.