Strain-Engineered Oxygen-Modified Nickel Telluride/Nickel Oxide Heterostructures for Bifunctional Alkaline Water Electrocatalysis.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41361739.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.5c14702.
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Abstract
We present a strain-engineering strategy for oxygen-modified nickel telluride/nickel oxide heterostructures capable of enabling bifunctional alkaline water electrolysis with performance surpassing Pt and IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub> benchmarks. The heterostructures are synthesized via electrochemical Te dissolution and mild oxidation of mechanically exfoliated NiTe<sub>2</sub>, followed by controlled strain induction through substrate buckling. Atomic-scale simulations and spectroscopic analyses indicate that Te-vacancy/O-substituted NiTe<sub>2</sub> domains promote oxygen-intermediate spillover between adjacent active sites, reducing OER overpotentials. In parallel, strained NiTe<sub>2</sub> domains facilitate hydrogen-intermediate transfer to NiO containing Ni vacancies, leading to accelerated HER kinetics and near-thermoneutral hydrogen adsorption. Strain modulation adjusts the electronic structure and increases active-site density, enabling stable operation at industrial-level current densities (>1 A cm<sup>-2</sup>). These findings illustrate how defect chemistry coupled with strain engineering can be utilized to develop high-performance, earth-abundant bifunctional electrocatalysts.