Interfacial Engineering of Copper–Nickel Selenide Nanodendrites for Enhanced Overall Water Splitting in Alkali Condition

Abstract

Fabricating heterogeneous interfaces is an effective approach to improve the intrinsic activity of noble-metal-free catalysts for water splitting. Herein, 3D copper-nickel selenide (CuNi@NiSe) nanodendrites with abundant heterointerfaces are constructed by a precise multi-step wet chemistry method. Notably, CuNi@NiSe only needs 293 and 41 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), respectively. Moreover, the assembled CuNi@NiSe system just requires 2.2 V at 1000 mA cm^-2 in anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer, which is 2.0 times better than Pt/C//IrO₂ . Mechanism studies reveal Cu defects on the Cu_2-x Se surface boost the electron transfer between Cu atoms and Se atoms of Ni₃ Se₄ via Cu_2-x Se/Ni₃ Se₄ interface, largely lowering the reaction barrier of rate-determining step for HER. Besides, the intrinsic activity of Ni atoms for in situ generated NiOOH is largely enhanced during OER because of the electron-modulating effect of Se atoms at Ni₃ Se₄ /NiOOH interface. The unique 3D structure also promotes the mass transfer during catalysis process. This work emphasizes the essential role of interfacial engineering for practical water splitting.