Mn-doped core-shell FeNi2Mn0.06 metal aerogel with multistage electron control network for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

To address the issues of sluggish kinetics in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water electrolysis, as well as the insufficient activity and stability of non-noble metal catalysts, a Mn-doped core-shell structured FeNi 2 Mn 0.06 metallic aerogel was successfully fabricated via a one-step reduction method in this study. The sample features a porous aerogel architecture with a high specific surface area (71.78 m 2  g −1 ) and a hierarchical electron control network of “Ni–Fe–Mn”. In a 1 mol/L KOH, the sample achieves an overpotential of only 217 mV at 50 mA cm −2 , a Tafel slope of 33.8 mV dec −1 , and maintains good stability. Mechanistic analysis indicates that the three-dimensional porous network endows the material with a high specific surface area and excellent conductivity, while Mn doping and the core-shell interface jointly optimize the electronic orbital structure of active sites, which is crucial for the significant enhancement of catalytic performance. This study provides new insights for designing high-performance non-noble metal OER catalysts and lays a foundation for advancing the large-scale application of water electrolysis for hydrogen production.