Mass-producible High Performance NiNx Electro-Catalyst Prepared via Surface Immobilization

Abstract Nonprecious-metal catalysts with atomically dispersed active sites demonstrated high activity and selectivity in a series of catalysis reactions, the rational design and massive synthesis of such catalysts are of great interest but remains a huge challenge. Current approaches often require harsh conditions and tedious procedures. Here, we demonstrated a facile and scalable preparation strategy by anchoring pre-organized NiNx site on the surface of a layered Co-methylimidazole coordination compound. In two simple steps, single-site Ni electro-catalyst can be synthesized up to kilogram-scale with a yield of 75% under mild conditions. This catalyst exhibits excellent catalysis performances in both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions. Besides, it has tunable catalysis activity, high catalysis reproducibility and stability. The atomically dispersed NiNx sites are tolerate with high Ni concentration, indicating that the random reactions or metal nanoparticle formation generally observed at high temperature were avoided. This strategy presents a practical and green method for the industrial manufacture of nonprecious-metal single-site catalysts with predictable structure.