Ni(OH)₂ Nanoparticles Embedded in Conductive Microrod Array: An Efficient and Durable Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction

It is extremely important to develop earth-abundant and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with excellent performance in alkaline media. In this work, we describe the in situ electrochemical conversion of microrod array of Ni(tetracyanoquinodimethane) 2, Ni(TCNQ) 2, into Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles embedded in a conductive TCNQ microrod array via anode oxidation. Such Ni(OH) 2 -TCNQ microarray shows OER activity needing overpotentials of 322 and 354 mV to attain current densities of 50 and 100 mA cm –2 in 1.0 M KOH, respectively. It is also extremely durable with its electrocatalytic performance being kept for at least 20 h. This work points out a stimulating approach to explore the utilization of TCNQ array as a conductive matrix for electrochemical applications.