S-Doped Ni0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 Porous Single-Crystalline Nanosheets for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution

Developing a highly efficient catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of great significance for its application in electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, a solid–solid transformation strategy has been developed to construct sulfur-doped Ni0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 spinel porous single-crystal nanosheet arrays on nickel foam (S-NCFO/NF). The single-crystalline nanosheet self-assembled nanostructures can provide fast charge transfer channels. With the effect of S-doping, a distorted/incomplete octahedral structure nanosheet can be formed. The unique porous S-NCFO nanosheets can provide a large number of active sites and sufficiently contact the electrolyte to adsorb OH– and desorb O2. By virtue of the porous single-crystal nanosheet, sulfur-doped spinel structure, and the unique self-assembled nanosheet configurations, the S-NCFO/NF electrode exhibits enhanced OER performance with low overpotentials at 100 mA cm–2 of 300 mV in 1 M KOH and 317 mV in 1 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl. The synthesis strategy provides insight for the preparation and application of self-assembled nanostructures in electrocatalytic seawater splitting.