Surface reconstruction of Se-doped NiS_(2) enables high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction

Surface reconstruction of electrocatalysts has been widely witnessed during the electrochemical processes.Here,NiS_(2),NiSe_(2), and Se doped NiS_(2)(Se-NiS_(2)) are fabricated for oxygen evolution reaction(OER) through a mild sulfuration and/or selenylation process of Ni(OH)_(2) supported on carbon cloth(CC).Through careful in-situ Raman spectroscopy and ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,surface reconstruction of NiS_(2),NiSe_(2),and Se-NiS_(2) during the OER process has been revealed.A potentialdependent study shows that Se-NiS_(2) undergoes surface evolution at lower potentials and requires the lowest potential for conversion to NiOOH as a highly OER-active species,accompanied by the leaching of SO_(4)^(2-) and SeO_(4)^(2-) that can again be adsorbed on the catalyst surface to enhance the catalytic activity.Density functional theory(DFT) calculations confirm that Se-NiS_(2) is more susceptible to surface oxidation through the OER process.Therefore,Se-NiS_(2) exhibits outstanding OER activity and stability in alkaline conditions,requiring an overpotential of 343 mV at a current density of 50 mA cm^(-2).A novel insight is provided by our work in understanding the surface reconstruction and electrocatalytic mechanism of Ni-based chalcogenides.