Communication—Fe-MOF Exhibits Higher Oxygen Evolution Ability by Electronic Modulation of Sodium Hypochlorite

Abstract

Development of robust alkaline oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts is crucial for the efficiency of water splitting. Herein, Fe-MOF nanocones array on nickel foam are synthesized by introducing sodium hypochlorite, leading to Cl substitution of terephthalic acid in Fe-MOFs (Fe-MOF-Cl/NF). Experimental results show that Fe-MOF-Cl/NF exhibits enhanced OER activity over Fe-MOF/NF, lowering η 50 from 292.4 to 222.7 mV. In combination with density function theory calculations, the improved OER performance is attributed to engineering electronic structure of Fe sites which accelerate the third step from *O to *OOH, and promote OER kinetics. Additionally, Fe-MOF-Cl/NF can retain catalytic activity for 100 h.