A core-shell structured CoMoO₄•nH₂O@Co_1-xFe_xOOH nanocatalyst for electrochemical evolution of oxygen

Nickel-iron oxyhydroxide (Ni_1-xFe_xOOH) is well recognized as the best-performing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst in alkaline electrolytes, however its analogue cobalt-iron oxyhydroxide (Co_1-xFe_xOOH) 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 Co_1-xFe_xOOH 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 Co_1-xFe_xOOH 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.