In terms of global energy needs, fabrication of robust electrode materials with superior energy storage performance and excellent energy generation activity is significant. We demonstrate for the first time the use of the pulsed laser rusting strategy for transmuting stainless steel (SS) into an active electrode that is used as an energy storage system of supercapacitors (SCs) and as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a bare stainless steel (denoted as BARE-SS) electrode is rusted on a single side (denoted as SSLR-SS) and on double sides (represented as DSLR-SS) by means of a Nd:YAG laser pulse. The unique honey-comb texture of highly conductive Fe–Cr–Ni oxide/oxyhydroxide rust layers causes a shorter diffusion path for electrons and ions. Therefore, the as-rusted electrodes possess preferred electrochemically active sites enabling the effective contact between them and the electrolyte (1 M KOH). The electrochemical measurements reveal that compared with the BARE-SS and SSLR-SS electrodes, the DSLR-SS electrode unveils improved capacitive behavior, including satisfactory areal capacitance (22 μF cm⁻² at 5 mV s⁻¹). Meanwhile, the DSLR-SS electrode has concurrently performed well as an electrocatalyst for the OER and can attain a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at a low overpotential of 382 mV with a Tafel slope of 52 mV dec⁻¹. These findings shed light on the economic pathway to prepare pulsed laser rusted metallic alloys and to handle multifunctional challenges in the field of energy.

中文翻译：

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脉冲激光生锈的不锈钢：适用于储能和发电应用的坚固电极材料

就全球能源需求而言，具有优异的能量存储性能和优异的能量产生活性的坚固的电极材料的制造意义重大。我们首次展示了使用脉冲激光生锈策略将不锈钢（SS）转变为活性电极，该活性电极用作超级电容器（SCs）的储能系统和氧释放反应（OER）的电催化剂。在此，通过Nd：YAG激光脉冲在单面（表示为SSLR-SS）和双面（表示为DSLR-SS）上使裸露的不锈钢（表示为BARE-SS）电极生锈。高导电性的Fe-Cr-Ni氧化物/羟基氧化铁锈层的独特蜂窝状结构使电子和离子的扩散路径更短。所以，生锈的电极具有优选的电化学活性位，使它们与电解质（1 M KOH）有效接触。电化学测量表明，与BARE-SS和SSLR-SS电极相比，DSLR-SS电极具有改善的电容性能，包括令人满意的面电容（22μFcm^-2在5 mV s ^-1）。同时，DSLR-SS电极同时用作OER的电催化剂，并且在382 mV的低过电势和52 mV dec ^-1的Tafel斜率下可获得10 mA cm ^-2的电流密度。这些发现为准备制备脉冲激光生锈的金属合金并应对能源领域的多功能挑战提供了经济途径。