Rapid large-scale synthesis of ultrathin NiFe-layered double hydroxide nanosheets with tunable structures as robust oxygen evolution electrocatalysts

Abstract

Transition metal layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) structures, especially NiFe-based LDH nanosheets, have been extensively developed as advanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts for water splitting. Nevertheless, traditional synthetic approaches for these promising catalysts usually involve tedious pretreatment procedures and a subsequent time-consuming exfoliation process, and the obtained products possess a wide dispersion of thickness and limited production yield. Here, a sequence of ultrathin NiFe-LDH nanosheets with tunable components were prepared on a large scale via a rapid room-temperature method under ambient conditions, and were further used as a desired material model for studying the influence of Ni/Fe ratio modulation on the OER performance. Due to the synergetic effect of more exposed active sites, efficient electron transport and optimized OER kinetics, the resulting LDH samples manifest outstanding electrocatalytic performance toward water oxidation.