Boosting OER activity of stainless steel by cathodic plasma surface modification

Developing an effective method to promote the electrocatalytic activity of stainless steel for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains challenging. In this paper, cathodic plasma bombardment (CPB) has been employed to modify the surface of 304 stainless steel by creating a nanoscale three dimensional structure with a large specific surface area, which could significantly improve the electrocatalytic OER performance of 304 stainless steel. The influence of CPB conditions on the electrocatalytic performance of 304 stainless steel was systematically investigated. The results indicate that the electrode prepared under the optimal CPB conditions only requires an overpotential of 323 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a Tafel slope of 51 mV dec−1 in the 1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte. The work provides a new methodology for the development of highly active and low-cost stainless steel-based electrocatalytic electrodes.