Preparation of nickel–iron sulfide/oxide nanocomposites by biomineralization of sulfate-reducing bacterium for efficient oxygen evolution

•A series of catalytic materials are prepared based on biomineralization.•BPs-Ni/HT shows exceptional performance among the reported metal OER electrocatalysts.•BPs-Ni/HT has a low overpotential of 230 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2.•The species of “M” in catalysts dominate an important position in OER catalytic activity.