Tuning the d-band center enables nickel-iron phosphide nanoprisms as efficient electrocatalyst towards oxygen evolution

Highly active and low-cost catalytic electrodes for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are always crucial for obtaining clean hydrogen energy via large-scale electrolytic water splitting. Herein, endowing the nickel-iron phosphide (NiFeP) nanoprisms with the tunable electronic structures have been carried out by tailoring the energy level of d-band in our study. The bimetallic synergistic effect efficiently accelerates the formation and cleavage rates of MO bonding, enabling the greatly improved OER catalytic performance after doping Fe into Ni2P. The large surface area benefiting from the porous architecture also facilitates more contact between electrocatalyst and alkaline electrolytes, resulting in an advanced OER activity. Therefore, NiFeP can drive the OER process with a low potential of 258 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 46 mV dec−1 in 1.0 M KOH solution. The present work provides the bimetallic phosphide nanoprism electrocatalyst with the tailored electronic structure for further application relevant to renewable energy exploration.