Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Chen, Jueyu; Dai, Ruijie; Ma, Hongwei; Lin, Zhijie; Li, Yuanchao; Xi, Bin

doi:10.3390/nano15070474

Open AccessArticle

Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

by

Jueyu Chen

,

Ruijie Dai

,

Hongwei Ma

,

Zhijie Lin

,

Yuanchao Li

^*

and

Bin Xi

^*

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nanomaterials 2025, 15(7), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15070474

Submission received: 14 February 2025 / Revised: 17 March 2025 / Accepted: 19 March 2025 / Published: 21 March 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Sustainable Green Energy)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

In this study, we present atomic layer deposition (ALD) of nickel oxides (NiO_x) using a new nickel precursor, (methylcyclopentadienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)nickel (NiCp(MeCp)), and ozone (O₃) as the oxygen source. The process features a relatively short saturation pulse of the precursor (NiCp(MeCp)) and a broad temperature window (150–250 °C) with a consistent growth rate of 0.39 Å per cycle. The NiO_x film deposited at 250 °C primarily exhibits a polycrystalline cubic phase with minimal carbon contamination. Notably, the post-annealed ALD NiO_x film demonstrates attractive electrocatalytic performance on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by providing a low overpotential of 320 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², a low Tafel slope of 70.5 mV dec⁻¹, and sufficient catalytic stability. These results highlight the potential of the ALD process using the NiCp(MeCp) precursor for the fabrication of high-activity catalysts.

Keywords: atomic layer deposition; nickel oxides; oxygen evolution reaction; nanocatalyst

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, J.; Dai, R.; Ma, H.; Lin, Z.; Li, Y.; Xi, B. Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction. Nanomaterials 2025, 15, 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15070474

AMA Style

Chen J, Dai R, Ma H, Lin Z, Li Y, Xi B. Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction. Nanomaterials. 2025; 15(7):474. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15070474

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Jueyu, Ruijie Dai, Hongwei Ma, Zhijie Lin, Yuanchao Li, and Bin Xi. 2025. "Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction" Nanomaterials 15, no. 7: 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15070474

APA Style

Chen, J., Dai, R., Ma, H., Lin, Z., Li, Y., & Xi, B. (2025). Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction. Nanomaterials, 15(7), 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15070474

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Oxides as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI