A core-shell structured CoMoO4⋅nH2O@Co1-xFexOOH nanocatalyst for electrochemical evolution of oxygen

Abstract

Nickel-iron oxyhydroxide (Ni1-xFexOOH) is well recognized as the best-performing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst in alkaline electrolytes, however its analogue cobalt-iron oxyhydroxide (Co1-xFexOOH) is surprisingly less explored despite their structural similarity. Inspired by our recent study on high-performance HER catalyst using the nanostructured CoMoO4⋅nH2O precursor, herein, we report a facile synthesis of Co1-xFexOOH catalyst derived from the same precursor and its excellent electrocatalytic properties towards the OER in alkaline electrolytes. A core-shell structured nanocatalyst consisting of disordered Co1-xFexOOH layer over the surface of crystalline CoMoO4⋅nH2O nanosheets was synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method followed by anodic electrooxidation. Thus-prepared catalyst exhibited extraordinarily high and stable activity towards the OER in alkaline electrolyte, which outperformed most Co-based OER catalysts. Combined with the HER catalyst derived from the same CoMoO4⋅nH2O precursor as the cathode, we further developed and tested a simple water-splitting cell, which significantly surpasses the benchmarking IrO2–Pt/C couple (1.63 V) and requires a voltage of only 1.517 V to afford 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH solution. Density functional theory calculations were conducted to gain insight into the Fe-doping induced improvement of OER activity.