A novel method to fabricate Ni(OH) 2 /Ni(OOH) nanoflakes doped Cu 2 O@CuO core-shell nanomaterials using Cu 2
Yongling Du, Yang Zhou, Zhixiang ZhengNi-doped Cu₂O nanomaterials, using cuprous oxide as a template, have been successfully prepared into Ni(OH)₂/Ni(OOH) doped Cu 2 O@CuO shell-shell nanomaterials through a novel photochemical deposition-etching technique. Under photochemical circumstances, part of Cu 2 O was oxidized to CuO, and nickel hydroxide was deposited on the CuO surface through photochemical reaction. Some nickel hydroxide was oxidized to high-state Ni(OOH), which had higher oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity than Ni(OH) 2 . The Ni(OH) 2 /Ni(OOH) nanoflakes-doped Cu 2 O@CuO nanomaterial exhibited higher catalytic activity than pure Cu 2 O crystals. The fabrication mechanism of Ni(OH) 2 -Ni(OOH) doped Cu 2 O@CuO core-shell was studied. The surface area of Ni(OH) 2 -Ni(OOH) doped Cu 2 O@CuO core-shell nanomaterials is ten times higher than that of pure Cu 2 O nanocrystals. The Ni(OH) 2 /Ni(OOH)- doped Cu 2 O@CuO core-shell nanomaterials exhibit the highest catalytic activity at a ratio of 10. The possible mechanism of OER on the Ni(OH) 2 /Ni(OOH) modified Cu 2 O@CuO has been elaborated. The Ni(OH) 2 /Ni(OOH)@Cu 2 O has great potential to act as a catalyst for hydrogen production.