Immobilization of transition metal (Ni, Cu, and Co)-based colloidal nanoscale materials for the oxygen evolution reaction
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad 45320 Pakistan
- 2Center for Applied Mathematics and Bioinformatics (CAMB), Gulf University for Science and Technology 32093 Hawally Kuwait
- 3Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University P. O. Box 84428 Riyadh 11671 Saudi Arabia
- 4Department of Physics, Sakarya University Sakarya Turkey
- 5Department of Physics, College of Science, Qassim University Buraydah 51452 Al-Qassim Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the holy grail for clean energy conversion and storage, aimed at mitigating the ever-growing energy demands. However, the inherent sluggish kinetics of the OER remain the primary bottleneck, consequently impeding overall water splitting for efficient hydrogen production. In this regard, ultrasmall metal nanoclusters (NCs, size ≤ 3 nm) or nanoscale materials with tunable physicochemical properties have recently emerged, offering unparalleled opportunities for manipulating the catalytic efficiency and electronic structure at the atomic level. Herein, we report a rational design of transition metal (Ni, Cu, and Co)-based colloidal nanoscale materials immobilized on an N-doped carbon (NC) support for the OER. The structure, size, and electronic properties were investigated using UV-vis, photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopies, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical measurements demonstrated encouraging OER performance, where NiNCs@NC, CoNCs@NC, and CuNCs@NC achieved a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at operational voltages of 1.45, 1.48, and 1.51 V, respectively. Reasonable Tafel slopes and electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) were observed, following the trend of operational potential, indicating an inherent link between the structure–property relationship and kinetics of the OER. Long-term electrochemical testing revealed good durability over 10 hours for all samples, with NiNCs@NC presenting exceptional persistent performance for over 50 hours. Comprehensive structural and electrochemical studies indicated that the improved OER performance stems from the synergistic integrations of thiol-protected monometallic nanoscale materials with the NC support. In a nutshell, this study provides a viable strategy for immobilizing surface-functionalized colloidal nanoscale materials for electrocatalysis, efficiently bridging homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.
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BibTeX
@article{ullah2026immobilization,
title = {{Immobilization of transition metal (Ni, Cu, and Co)-based colloidal nanoscale materials for the oxygen evolution reaction}},
author = {Sajid Ullah and Syeda Tabeer Zahra and Khizer Hayat Khan and R. Nawaz and Norah Alomayrah and M. S. Al-Buriahi and Aiyeshah Alhodaib and Zeinebou Yahya and Ziaur Rehman and Akhtar Munir},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra07054j},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667366},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Immobilization of transition metal (Ni, Cu, and Co)-based colloidal nanoscale materials for the oxygen evolution reaction
AU - Sajid Ullah
AU - Syeda Tabeer Zahra
AU - Khizer Hayat Khan
AU - R. Nawaz
AU - Norah Alomayrah
AU - M. S. Al-Buriahi
AU - Aiyeshah Alhodaib
AU - Zeinebou Yahya
AU - Ziaur Rehman
AU - Akhtar Munir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra07054j
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667366
AB - The rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the holy grail for clean energy conversion and storage, aimed at mitigating the ever-growing energy demands. However, the inherent sluggish kinetics of the OER remain the primary bottleneck, consequently impeding overall water splitting for efficient hydrogen production. In this regard, ultrasmall metal nanoclusters (NCs, size ≤ 3 nm) or nanoscale materials with tunable physicochemical properties have recently emerged, offering unparalleled opportunities for manipulating the catalytic efficiency and electronic structure at the atomic level. Herein, we report a rational design of transition metal (Ni, Cu, and Co)-based colloidal nanoscale materials immobilized on an N-doped carbon (NC) support for the OER. The structure, size, and electronic properties were investigated using UV-vis, photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopies, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical measurements demonstrated encouraging OER performance, where NiNCs@NC, CoNCs@NC, and CuNCs@NC achieved a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at operational voltages of 1.45, 1.48, and 1.51 V, respectively. Reasonable Tafel slopes and electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) were observed, following the trend of operational potential, indicating an inherent link between the structure–property relationship and kinetics of the OER. Long-term electrochemical testing revealed good durability over 10 hours for all samples, with NiNCs@NC presenting exceptional persistent performance for over 50 hours. Comprehensive structural and electrochemical studies indicated that the improved OER performance stems from the synergistic integrations of thiol-protected monometallic nanoscale materials with the NC support. In a nutshell, this study provides a viable strategy for immobilizing surface-functionalized colloidal nanoscale materials for electrocatalysis, efficiently bridging homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -