2D Ferromagnetic M3 GeTe2 (M = Ni/Fe) for Boosting Intermediates Adsorption toward Faster Water Oxidation

Guyue Bo; Peng Li; Yameng Fan; Xiaobo Zheng; Mengting Zhao; Qiang Zhu; Yang Fu; Yitong Li; Wei Kong Pang; Wei Hong Lai; Bernt Johannessen; Lars Thomsen; Bruce Cowie; Tianyi Ma; Cheng Wang; Guan Heng Yeoh; Yi Du; Shi Xue Dou; Xun Xu

doi:10.1002/advs.202310115

2D Ferromagnetic M₃ GeTe₂ (M = Ni/Fe) for Boosting Intermediates Adsorption toward Faster Water Oxidation

Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Mar 16:e2310115. doi: 10.1002/advs.202310115. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Guyue Bo¹, Peng Li², Yameng Fan¹, Xiaobo Zheng¹, Mengting Zhao³, Qiang Zhu⁴, Yang Fu², Yitong Li², Wei Kong Pang¹, Wei Hong Lai¹, Bernt Johannessen^{1

5}, Lars Thomsen⁵, Bruce Cowie⁵, Tianyi Ma², Cheng Wang⁶, Guan Heng Yeoh⁶, Yi Du⁷, Shi Xue Dou^{1

8}, Xun Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, Australian Institute for Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
² School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia.
³ School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
⁴ Electron Microscopy Center, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2500, Australia.
⁵ Australian Synchrotron, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia.
⁶ School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁷ School of Physics and BUAA-UOW Joint Research Centre, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China.
⁸ Institute of Energy Materials Science (IEMS), University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai, 200093, P. R. China.

PMID: 38491872
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202310115

Abstract

In this work, 2D ferromagnetic M₃ GeTe₂ (MGT, M = Ni/Fe) nanosheets with rich atomic Te vacancies (2D-MGT_v ) are demonstrated as efficient OER electrocatalyst via a general mechanical exfoliation strategy. X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) results validate the dominant presence of metal-O moieties and rich Te vacancies, respectively. The formed Te vacancies are active for the adsorption of OH* and O* species while the metal-O moieties promote the O* and OOH* adsorption, contributing synergistically to the faster oxygen evolution kinetics. Consequently, 2D-Ni₃ GeTe_2v exhibits superior OER activity with only 370 mV overpotential to reach the current density of 100 mA cm^-2 and turnover frequency (TOF) value of 101.6 s^-1 at the overpotential of 200 mV in alkaline media. Furthermore, a 2D-Ni₃ GeTe_2v -based anion-exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis cell (1 cm² ) delivers a current density of 1.02 and 1.32 A cm^-2 at the voltage of 3 V feeding with 0.1 and 1 m KOH solution, respectively. The demonstrated metal-O coordination with abundant atomic vacancies for ferromagnetic M₃ GeTe₂ and the easily extended preparation strategy would enlighten the rational design and fabrication of other ferromagnetic materials for wider electrocatalytic applications.

Keywords: 2D ferromagnetic; Ni3/Fe3GeTe2; atomic defects; hydroxyl adsorption; oxygen evolution reaction.

Abstract

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