Nanostructured amorphous Fe_(29)Co_(27)Ni_(23)Si_(9)B_(12) high-entropy-alloy:an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

摘要

Proximal configu ration of dissimilar metal atoms in amorphous high-entropy-alloys(HEAs) always re sult in interatomic d-band ligand effect,dense defect distribution,coordinatively unsaturated sites,high potential energy,and loose atom bonding.Herein,nanostructured amorphous Fe_(29)Co_(27)Ni_(23)Si_(9)B_(12) HEA ribbon is fabricated via a melt spinning method combined with electrochemical corrosion etching process,which is applied as the potential oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst.It is found that there are micro/nano pits on the surface of etched amorphous Fe_(29)Co_(27)Ni_(23)Si_(9)B_(12) ribbons.Various elements of HEAs bond with each other to form a highly disordered configu ration,which could result in an optimized bonding energy and enhanced intrinsic catalytic activity.The electrocatalysis activity measurements indicate that the amorphous HEA endows a much higher activity than the crystalline one,which is further improved by the electrochemical etching treatment.Especially,the HEA ribbon etched for 3 h requires a low overpotential of 230 mV to afford 10 mA cm^(-2) current density.In addition,density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the amorphous structure can weaken the interaction between the surface of Fe_(29)Co_(27)Ni_(23)Si_(9)B_(12) alloy and the intermediates,leading to an optimized adsorption Gibbs free energy.