Nanoarchitectonics with NiFe-layered double hydroxide decorated Co/Ni-carbon nanotubes for efficient oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis

Abstract

• NiFe-LDH decorated Co/Ni-carbon nanotube nanoarchitectonics was fabricated. • The nanotubes enhanced the conductivity and improved the distribution of NiFe- LDH. • The nanoarchitectonics revealed efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. • The result provided a feasible approach to get excellent OER electrocatalysts. To face the application request of electrocatalytic overall water splitting, developing highly efficient and cost-effective catalysts for water splitting, especially for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is yet challenging. In this work, NiFe-layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDHs) are grown on the bimetallic (Ni and Co) embedded carbon nanotubes to get efficient catalysts for excellent OER performance, in which 267 mV is required to reach the current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1 M KOH solution without iR-compensation. The formation of carbon nanotubes significantly enhances the conductivity and alleviates the agglomeration of NiFe-LDHs, meanwhile, the bimetallic carbon substrate/nanotube is employed as a bridge to drive electrons transfer to NiFe-LDHs. The redistribution of electrons makes NiFe-LDHs in an electron-rich situation. The regulation of the electronic situation adjusts the bonding strength between the active sites and oxygen intermediates to promote the deprotonation process.