Laser processed Ni-Fe alloys as electrocatalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction

In this paper, a laser based manufacturing method is applied to prepare Ni-Fe alloys with varied Ni, Fe ratios as the electrocatalyst toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). The crystal structures, morphologies, and compositions of the laser processed Ni-Fe alloys are examined by XRD, XPS and SEM prior and after electrochemical testing. The laser processed Ni6Fe4 alloy exhibits an excellent activity with an OER current density of 100 mA cm−2 at 464 mV overpotential in 1 M KOH aqueous solution, which is comparable to the performance of electrocatalysts reported to date. The application of laser based manufacturing for electrocatalyst synthesis may facilitate both electrode design and composition optimization, which paves a new way for the efficient development of novel electrocatalyst.