Fabrication of\nTrimetallic Fe–Co–Ni\nElectrocatalysts for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The development of inexpensive and well-activated water-splitting\ncatalysts is required to reduce the use of conventional fossil fuels.\nIn this study, a trimetallic Fe–Co–Ni catalyst was fabricated\nusing a simple ion electrodeposition method. The metal deposition\nwas performed using cyclic voltammetry, which was more efficient than\nconstant-voltage deposition and significantly increased the stability\nof the catalyst. The synthesized material presented the morphology\nof a nanoflower in which the nanosheets were agglomerated. The Fe–Co–Ni\ncatalyst exhibited excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) properties\nbecause the charge-transfer rate was improved owing to the synergistic\neffect of the metals. The OER was performed in a 1 M KOH solution\nusing a three-electrode system, and the overpotential was 302 mV at\n100 mA/cm². In addition, the Fe–Co–Ni catalyst\nexhibited excellent stability in alkaline solution for more than 48\nh at 200 mA/cm². The results show that the method for preparing\nFe–Co–Ni significantly improves its catalytic activity,\nand the resulting material could be used as an economical and efficient\ncatalyst in future.