Iron-incorporated defective graphite by in-situ electrochemical oxidization for oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an irreplaceable reaction as a half-cell reaction in various electrocatalytic systems . However, the four-electron transfer process makes it sluggish. Although many OER electrocatalysts have been developed, most of them are relatively expensive. Herein, we report a Fe 3+ -incorporated defective oxidized graphite (OGP) (Fe 3+ -OGP) as electrocatalyst for OER, which is obtained by a simple electrochemical oxidation of graphite paper (GP) in the Fe(NO 3 ) 3 solution. We find that the defects with oxygen-functional groups are achieved and Fe 3+ is mainly combined with the C–O–C group after the anodization . Fe 3+ -OGP shows a low overpotential of 1.64 V at 10 mA cm −2 , a stability up to 40 h at 40 mA cm −2 , and a Faraday efficiency of > 97% in an alkaline solution. Most importantly, we show that the positively charged surface of Fe 3+ -OGP can enhance the adsorption of O species dramatically and promote OER in alkaline conditions greatly. Our study may provide an alternative way to develop novel electrocatalysts based on low-cost materials.