Regulation engineering of lignin-derived N-doped carbon-supported FeNi alloy particles towards efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

The electrocatalytic hydrogen production technology using green energy can reduce the dependence on traditional fossil fuels and the net emission of carbon dioxide. However, the high overpotential and low efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the anode limit the overall water splitting. Here, carboxylic acid ligands with coordination function were designed and synthesized by modifying the surface functional groups of lignin. Bimetallic functionally-doped lignin-derived carbon materials (Fe4Ni4@NC) were synthesized by continuous ion layer adsorption and pyrolysis process using Fe and Ni transition metals as source and template. The catalyst requires only 214 mV of overpotential to produce 10 mA center dot cm(-2), which has much faster catalytic kinetics. Theoretical calculation shows that the energy barrier of rate-determining step in OER is reduced by appropriate feed ratio and nano-size. The facile strategy opens up an economical and efficient solution for designing OER electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and excellent stability.