Electrodeposition of self-supported Ni–Fe–Sn film on Ni foam: An efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts are highly desirable to improve the efficiency of water splitting for oxygen evolution. In this work, a self-supported ternary Ni–Fe–Sn film on three dimensional nickel foam, which is prepared through a simple electrodeposition method, is investigated as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst. The Ni–Fe–Sn film displays a considerably low overpotential of 253 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 and a small Tafel slope of 61.5 mV dec −1 and excellent long-term stability for OER in 30% KOH aqueous solution. The good OER performance of Ni–Fe–Sn film may originate from its high electrochemical active surface area, rapid electron/proton and mass transfers, and the close combination between Ni–Fe–Sn film and nickel foam. This work provides a guideline to develop the low-cost and efficient earth-abundant OER anodes.