Simple synthesis of peanut shell-like MoCoFe-HO@CoMo-LDH for efficient alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Depletion of fossil fuels necessitates efficient alternatives for energy conversion.
• Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for energy technologies like water splitting.
• Non-precious metal electrocatalysts are sought for cost-effectiveness and resource abundance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a novel, economical, and efficient non-precious metal electrocatalyst for OER.
• To investigate the structure-property relationships of the synthesized material.
• To demonstrate the potential of the developed catalyst in alkaline media.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal synthesis of rod-shaped MIL-88A.
• Encapsulation of MIL-88A within zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) via self-assembly.
• Ion-exchange reactions to form CoFe-LDH@ZIF-67 and subsequently MoCoFe-HO@CoMo-LDH core-shell structures.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of a hierarchical MoCoFe-HO@CoMo-LDH core-shell electrocatalyst.
• The catalyst exhibited excellent OER activity with a low overpotential of 324 mV at 10 mA cm⁻².
• Achieved a small Tafel slope of 45.11 mV dec⁻¹, indicating efficient OER kinetics.
• Demonstrated good electrochemical stability in alkaline conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed MoCoFe-HO@CoMo-LDH core-shell structure is a highly promising non-precious metal electrocatalyst for OER.
• The hierarchical structure and synergistic composition contribute to enhanced catalytic performance.
• This work offers a viable strategy for designing advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable energy applications.