Modified cobalt oxalate heterostructure catalyst P–FeOOH@CoC2O4/NF for a highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been recognized as the key role to determine the overall efficiency of hydrogen production by electrolysis of water. The development of green, low-cost and high stability electrocatalysts which can effectively reduce the reaction energy barrier is a key to promote the large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Herein, a modified transition metal oxalate loaded on nickel foam (NF), P–FeOOH@CoC2O4/NF heterostructure catalyst was synthesized by simple hydrothermal and electrodeposition methods. By constructing heterostructures and phosphorous doping, the morphology and electronic structure of CoC2O4 were optimized, thus, P–FeOOH@CoC2O4/NF shows excellent electrocatalytic performance, the overpotentials of 211/264/295 mV were needed to reach the current densities of 10/100/200 mA cm−2, with a low Tafel slope of 41.33 mV dec−1 and almost constant long-term stability. The results revealed that the construction of the heterostructure led to the superficial electrochemical reconstruction of the cobalt oxalate microrod, which effectually accelerated the transformation of the active species and primely realized the efficient alkaline water oxidation.