| Abstract Scope |
Over the past few decades, considerable attention has been devoted to enhancing the activity of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for hydrogen production. However, the cost and long-term stability of these catalysts, which may play an equally important role in industrialization, have been much less emphasized. In this work, we rationally design an OER electrode from abundant stainless steel (SS) via facile approaches, and the obtained electrode consists of a Ni-rich oxide surface layer and a Fe-rich metal substrate. An excellent OER activity as well as low degradation rate were observed in a 1 M KOH electrolyte. An electrode self-replenishing concept is proposed in which a Ni-rich catalyst layer can be regenerated from a metallic substrate because of the difference in diffusion and dissolution rates of metal oxides/hydroxides. The facile engineering of OER electrodes from SS combined with the self-replenishing catalyst can potentially address the cost, activity, and long-term stability barriers. |