Investigation of Oxygen Evolution Performance of Highly Efficient Water Electrolysis Catalyst: NiFe LDH/BPene

Abstract

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a crucial role in hydrogen production through water electrolysis. However, the high overpotential and sluggish kinetics of the OER pose significant challenges. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been widely used as highly active electrocatalysts to tackle these issues. To further enhance the catalytic activity of LDHs and optimize their composition and morphology, the rational design of highly efficient electrocatalysts is desirable. Considering the flexibility of heterogeneous structures in terms of their electronic structure and surface chemistry, this study employs a simple and effective hydrothermal synthesis method. By leveraging van der Waals (vdW) interactions, a heterostructure is constructed between nickel-iron bimetallic hydroxide (NiFe LDH) nanosheets and black phosphorene (BPene). The OER electrochemical test results demonstrate the superior electrocatalytic properties of the NiFe LDH/BPene heterostructure. The heterostructure exhibits remarkably low overpotential (180 mV) and Tafel slope (72.36 mV dec−1) at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the stability test conducted for 30,000 s showed a current retention rate exceeding 93.00%. This work provides new perspectives into the electronic structure regulation of 2D heterostructures and highlights new avenues for tuning the electrocatalytic adsorption of emerging phosphorus-based materials.