Aerosol Assisted Synthesis of Iron Oxide@High Entropy Alloy Core-Shell
Nanospheres as Superior Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution
Reaction
Abstract
This study explores the synthesis of high-entropy alloy (HEA)
nanoparticles with core-shell structures using hydrogen
reduction-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). The focus is on
synthesizing nanoparticles with transition metal based CoCuFeNi and
CoCuFeNiZn HEA shells over iron oxide cores. The USP method enabled
precise control over particle composition and morphology, resulting in
spherical nanoparticles with complex core-shell configurations. The
first synthesized particles with a CoCuFeNi shell over an Fe3O4 core
(Fe3O4@CoCuFeNi) exhibited an average grain size of 144.9 nm. Subsequent
synthesis involving the addition of Zn resulted in a CoCuFeNiZn shell
over an FeO core (FeO@CoCuFeNiZn). The addition of Zn not only
contributed to the shell composition but also modified the type of iron
oxide core from Fe3O4 to FeO, increasing the grain size of the
nanospheres to an average diameter of 224.4 nm. Electrocatalytic testing
showed that Fe3O4@CoCuFeNi exhibited outstanding oxygen evolution
reaction (OER) activity in 1 M KOH alkaline media. These nanospheres
required overpotentials of 306 mV at 10 mA cm², with a Tafel slope of
61.5 mV dec⁻¹. Meanwhile, FeO@CoCuFeNiZn demonstrated a higher
overpotential of 378 mV at 10 mA cm² and a Tafel slope of 65.4 mV dec⁻¹,
underlining the influence of zinc addition on catalytic activity.
Compared to some other HEAs and commercial IrO2 electrocatalysts, both
core-shell nanosphere variants show improved charge transfer and
reaction kinetics, underscoring their potential as cost-effective and
highly efficient electrocatalysts for sustainable water electrolysis.