Facile one-step synthesis of tunable nanochain-like Fe–Mo–B: A highly efficient and stable catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract Exploring high-performance and cost-effective non-noble metal electrocatalysts towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for large-scale hydrogen production via water splitting. Herein, a series of ternary Fe–Mo–B materials with nanochain-like structure have been successfully fabricated by a green and feasible electroless deposition method. When the molar ratio of Mo/(Mo + Fe) precursor is tuned to 3/100, as-fabricated nanochain-like Fe–Mo–B shows remarkable OER performance with a low overpotential of only 253 mV at current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1. In addition, it demonstrates a preeminent long-term electrochemical stability for continuous oxygen generation under alkaline condition. The enhanced OER performance benefits from the synergistic effects between Fe and Mo, bringing about the large electrocatalytic active surface area and fast electronic transfer rate. The work may pave a new path to reasonable design and construct metal-boride-based catalyst with excellent activity for electrocatalytic OER.