Facile synthesis of sponge-like Ni3N/NC for electrocatalytic water oxidation.

Sponge-like Ni3N/NC was prepared through a facile approach and was examined as a catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This material can efficiently catalyze water oxidation to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a small overpotential of 310 mV in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. The high efficiency can be attributed to the good electronic conductivity, large specific surface area and fast mass diffusion ability of Ni3N/NC.