With a motivation to discover efficient materials for direct electrolysis of seawater, bimetallic oxy-boride (Co–Fe–O–B) nanostructures were developed using a facile hydrothermal synthesis strategy, with varying content of Fe. The oxygen evolution performance of the optimized Co–Fe–O–B catalyst in alkali water (1 M KOH) showed higher reaction rates owing to a Co₃O₄–core–Co₂B-shell structure, which assists in the formation of active CoOOH species at lower potentials and offers a smaller charge-transfer resistance. The best-performing catalyst in alkali water was found to be highly active (294 mV to achieve 10 mA/cm²) in saline water (1 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl), with 100% O₂ selectivity, establishing its potential for seawater electrolysis. The high activity and selectivity of the oxy-boride catalyst in alkaline saline electrolyte presents a fresh avenue for research in low-cost materials, especially boron-containing compounds, for selective seawater splitting.

中文翻译：

---

高效和选择性的金属氧硼化物电催化剂，可从碱溶液和盐溶液中释放出氧气

为了发现用于直接电解海水的有效材料，人们采用了一种简便的水热合成策略，开发了具有不同铁含量的双金属硼氧化物（Co-Fe-O-B）纳米结构。经过优化的Co-Fe-O-B催化剂在碱水中（1 M KOH）的析氧性能显示出较高的反应速率，这归因于Co ₃ O _4-核-Co ₂ B壳结构，这有助于形成处于较低电位的活性CoOOH物种，并提供较小的电荷转移阻力。发现在含100％O _2的盐水（1 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl）中，碱性水中性能最佳的催化剂具有高活性（294 mV，可达到10 mA / cm ²）。选择性，建立了海水电解的潜力。碱性盐水电解质中的硼氧化物催化剂的高活性和选择性为低成本材料（尤其是含硼化合物）的选择性海水分离研究提供了新的途径。