Construction of Core-Shell CoMoO₄@γ-FeOOH Nanosheets for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for energy conversion but suffers from high voltage requirements and low stability.
• Existing multi-metal oxyhydroxide catalysts face challenges with active site encapsulation and aggregation during synthesis.
• Developing efficient and stable OER electrocatalysts is vital for improving energy conversion technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel core-shell electrocatalyst for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance.
• To overcome limitations of active site accessibility and catalyst stability in OER applications.
• To explore the synergistic effects of CoMoO4 supports and γ-FeOOH nanosheets for OER catalysis.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a core-shell structure with CoMoO4 as the support and 2D γ-FeOOH nanosheets as the shell.
• Characterization of the catalyst's morphology, composition, and electronic structure.
• Electrochemical evaluation of the catalyst's performance in the oxygen evolution reaction.

Main Results:

• The core-shell structure significantly increased the electrochemically active surface area.
• Incorporation of Co atoms into γ-FeOOH tuned the electronic structure and provided additional active sites.
• The catalyst demonstrated excellent OER activity, achieving a low overpotential of 243.1 mV at 10 mA cm⁻².

Conclusions:

• The novel CoMoO4/γ-FeOOH core-shell catalyst offers superior OER performance compared to conventional catalysts.
• The multi-functional support strategy effectively enhances active site utilization and catalyst stability.
• This approach provides a promising platform for designing advanced electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications.