In-situ evolution of bimetallic Fe/ Ni/ Co nanohybrids on MXene for improved electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a vital electrochemical reaction for sustainable energy generation technologies. Due to the sluggish kinetics, exploration for an efficient non-precious metal catalyst is essential. Bimetallic nanohybrids are potential electrocatalysts for the OER due to their pore structure, large surface area, and inevitably dispersed metal centers. This work reports the synthesis of three bimetallic Ni–Co (NCMX), Fe–Co (FCMX), and Fe–Ni (FNMX) nanohybrids onto MXene for effective OER activity. An improved OER activity is observed on a plastic chip electrode (PCE) loaded with electrocatalysts. Among the synthesized electrocatalysts, NCMX exhibits excellent OER performance with an overpotential of 220 mV and a small Tafel slope of 94 mV/dec in a basic electrolyte (1 M KOH). The 3D MXenes framework promotes strong interaction with efficient charge transfer between the nanohybrids and MXene. Results demonstrate a promising recommendation for designing high-performance MXene-supported bimetallic nanohybrid electrocatalysts.