Professor Xu Guangwen’s Team Collaborates with Professor Huang Yizhong from Nanyang Technological University to Publish Research Findings in Carbon Energy

Professor Xu Guangwen’s research team from the Key Laboratory of Characteristic Resource Chemicals and Materials, Ministry of Education, collaborates with Professor Huang Yizhong from Nanyang Technological University to publish research findings in Carbon Energy.

Water electrolysis for green hydrogen production is an important pathway to address the energy crisis and achieve carbon neutrality. However, its commercialization has long been constrained by the sluggish kinetics of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the high cost of noble metal catalysts. Developing efficient, stable, and low-cost non-noble metal catalysts has become a key challenge in the field.

Recently, Professor Xu Guangwen’s team from the Key Laboratory of Characteristic Resource Chemicals and Materials, Ministry of Education, at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, in collaboration with Professor Huang Yizhong from Nanyang Technological University, proposed an ultrafast synthesis strategy based on pulsed laser irradiation. The team fabricated carbon-encapsulated FeCoNiCrZn multi-principal element alloy nanocatalysts (FeCoNiCrZn-C@CC) in a single step.

The catalyst exhibits an overpotential of only 233 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², a Tafel slope of 62.0 mV dec⁻¹, and maintains stable operation for 94 hours at a high current density of 250 mA cm⁻². Its performance outperforms commercial RuO₂ and most reported state-of-the-art catalysts.

By combining quasi-in-situ XPS, DEMS, and first-principles calculations, the research team revealed multiple synergistic mechanisms underlying the enhanced performance: the in-situ formation of M³⁺‑OOH (M = Fe, Co, Ni) active species, surface reconstruction induced by partial Cr dissolution, defect sites generated by laser-driven Zn volatilization, and the synergistic improvement in electrical conductivity and mass transfer efficiency enabled by ascorbic acid-derived micro-mesoporous amorphous carbon layers.

This work not only opens up a new avenue for the ultrafast preparation of high-performance electrocatalysts but also provides atomic-scale theoretical guidance for the rational design of multi-principal element alloy catalysts.

Figure. Catalytic Mechanistic Differences between FeCoNiCrZn‑C and FeCoNiCrZn

On March 27, 2026, the relevant research results were published in Carbon Energy under the title “Ultrafast Synthesis of a Non‑Noble FeCoNiCrZn Multi‑Element Alloy Electrocatalyst for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction”. Associate Professor Liang Yu from Shenyang University of Chemical Technology is the first author; Professor Xie Yingpeng and Professor Huang Yizhong from Nanyang Technological University are the co-corresponding authors.

Primary Review and Translating: Wei Chunyu

Secondary Review and Translating: Zhao Wenhao

Final Review and Approval: Wang Meng