One-step synthesis of wire-in-plate nanostructured materials made of CoFe-LDH nanoplates coupled with Co(OH)2 nanowires grown on a Ni foam for a high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Developing high-performance, robust and cost-effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for electrochemical water splitting is a promising way to produce energy-saving electrolytic hydrogen fuels. Herein, a series of rational wire-in-plate nanostructured CoFe LDH electrocatalysts grown on a Ni foam were developed via a one-step hydrothermal method. In this series of catalysts, Co₄Fe₂-LDHs/Co(OH)₂-NWs exhibit excellent OER performance which is attributed to the most rational wire-in-plate nanostructure: the overpotentials of only 220 and 231 mV to drive current densities of 50 mA cm⁻² and 100 mA cm⁻², respectively, with a small Tafel slope of 51 mV dec⁻¹. Our study opens up a new horizon for the design of hierarchical structures with the coexistence of multidimensional nanounits for electrocatalysts.