Spinel NiCo2O4 3-D nanoflowers supported on graphene nanosheets as efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract Efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with non-noble metals are very critical for the large-scale exploitation of electrocatalytic hydrogen production systems. To improve the catalytic activity of OER electrocatalysts, several design strategies, such as construction of nanostructures, porous structures and composite materials have been proposed. Herein, spinel NiCo2O4 3-D nanoflowers supported on graphene nanosheets (GNs) are prepared by a simple solvothermal synthesis method as non-noble metal electrocatalysts for OER. The present NiCo2O4/GNs composite integrates multiple advantages of nanostructures, porous structures and composite materials, including high surface area, abundant catalytic sites and high stability. Benefiting from the favorable features, the NiCo2O4/GNs composite exhibits a better OER performance than NiCo2O4 and RuO2 in alkaline medium, which has a low onset potential (1.50 V), a small Tafel slope (137 mV dec−1). The present work opens a new window for the construction of the carbon-supported 3-D nanostructure of transition metal catalysts with optimizable electrocatalytic performances for electrocatalytic hydrogen production.