journal article·2026-07-06Open access

In Situ Reconstructed Crystalline–Amorphous CuNi Nanotubes Unifying Activity and Stability for Oxygen Evolution

Shi‐Yu Zhu, Han Gao, Meng Li, Ling‐Rui Wang, Tian‐Yu Xia, Wei‐Di Liu, Xiao‐Lei Shi, Hai‐Zhong Guo, Zhi‐Gang Chen

Abstract

ABSTRACT Development of durable and active noble‐metal‐free catalysts for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a critical challenge. Conventional electrocatalysts typically suffer from an intrinsic trade‐off between activity and stability. Here, we report an in situ electrochemically reconstructed CuNi nanotube with a crystalline–amorphous heterostructure, featuring a conductive crystalline alloy core encapsulated by an amorphous nickel oxide shell. The metallic core provides a high‐conductivity framework for rapid charge transfer and maintains structural integrity, while the in situ derived amorphous phase maximizes the density of accessible active sites and passivates the metallic core against oxidative corrosion. The optimized catalyst achieves an overpotential of 229 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and operates stably for over 1000 h in alkaline OER, reconciling the catalytic activity and stability. Mechanistically, operando Raman spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy elucidate the dynamic valence modulation and surface phase evolution as the origin of its performance. Overall, this work establishes controlled electrochemical reconstruction as a transformative paradigm for unifying catalytic activity and stability, providing a design principle for advanced, earth‐abundant OER electrocatalysts.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Advanced battery technologies research · Nanoporous metals and alloys

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Physics Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou China

School of Chemistry and Physics ARC Research Hub in Zero‐emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality and Centre for Materials Science Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia

Institute of Quantum Materials and Physics Henan Academy of Sciences Zhengzhou China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China

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