(Fe0.2Ni0.8)0.96S tubular spheres supported on Ni foam as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Earth-abundant and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are highly significant for renewable energy systems. However, the performance of existing electrocatalysts is usually restricted by the low electroic conductivity and the limited amount of exposed active sites. In this work, (Fe 0.2 Ni 0.8 ) 0.96 S tubular spheres supported on Ni foam have been prepared by a sulfuration of FeNi layered double hydroxide spheres grown on Ni foam. Benefiting from the unique tubular sphere architecture, the rich inner defects and the enhanced electron interactions between Fe, Ni and S, this electrocatalyst shows low overpotential of 48 mV for HER at 10 mA cm −2 in 1.0 mol L −1 KOH solution, which is one of the lowest value of non-previous electrocatalyts for HER in alkaline electrolyte. Furthermore, assembled this versatile electrode as an alkaline electrolyzer for overall water splitting, a current density of 10 mA cm −2 is achieved at a low cell voltage of 1.56 V, and reach up to 30 mA cm −2 only at an operating cell voltage of 1.65 V.