LDH-assisted growth of FeCo bimetal-MOF nanorods for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as alternative OER catalysts due to their easy regulation, such as in situ self-reconstruction from MOFs to metal hydroxides through alkaline hydrolysis. Herein, we demonstrate a facile strategy for the in situ transformation of FeCo layered double hydroxide (FeCo-LDH) nanosheets into 1D spindle-shaped FeCo-MOFs for efficient OER. An optimized electrode of FeCo-MOF on a nickel foam (NF) was achieved by adjusting the addition of organic ligands and the reaction time in the hydrothermal reaction. Based on the unique 1D nanostructure and the cation regulation, the obtained FeCo-MOF exhibits a good catalytic performance toward the OER with a low overpotential of 475 mV at 100 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 121.8 mV dec−1, and high long-term durability. This study provides a facile strategy for preparing bimetal-MOFs as catalysts for efficient OER.