Unraveling the role of Co–O–Ni motifs in MOF-derived CoNi-LDH for the enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a critical bottleneck in water splitting due to its sluggish kinetics. Herein, we developed a MOF-derived CoNi-LDH catalyst (MDCoNi-LDH) based on an in situ etching strategy. We demonstrate that the hierarchical architecture facilitates mass transfer, while the integration of Co–O–Ni motifs strengthens the Co–O bonding and optimizes the rate-determining step (*OH → *O). Thus, the MDCoNi-LDH exhibits exceptional activity (1.51 V@10 mA cm⁻²) and robust stability (140 h@1.50 V).