Statistical Design-Guided Synthesis of Nanoarchitectonics of High-Performance NiFeMoN Electrocatalyst through Facile One-Step Magnetron Sputtering

This study presents an innovative, statistically-guided magnetron sputtering technique for creating nanoarchitectonics of high-performing, NiFeMoN electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water splitting. Using a central composite face-centered (CCF) design, 13 experimental conditions are identified that enable precise optimization of synthesis parameters through response surface methodology (RSM), confirmed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The statistical analysis highlighted a interaction between Mo% and N% in the nanostructured NiFeMoN and found optimizing values at 31.35% Mo and 47.12% N. The NiFeMoN catalyst demonstrated superior performance with a low overpotential of 216 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and remarkable stability over seven days, attributed to the modifications in electronic structure and the creation of new active sites through Mo and N additions. Furthermore, the NiFeMoN coating, when used as a protective layer for a Si photoanode in 1 m KOH, achieved an applied-bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 5.2%, maintaining stability for 76 h. These advancements underscore the profound potential of employing statistical design for optimizing synthesis parameters of intricate catalyst materials via magnetron sputtering, paving the way for accelerated advancements in water splitting technologies and also in other energy conversion systems, such as nitrogen reduction and CO2 conversion. The one-step magnetron sputtering method is used to synthesize the nanoarchitectonics of trimetallic NiFeMoN catalysts, improving the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). Statistical analysis identifies an interaction between Mo and N concentration, optimizing at 31.35% Mo and 47.12% N. The refined catalyst exhibits low overpotential (216 mV at 10 mA cm-2) and impressive stability over seven days. image