Interface engineering of FeCo LDH@NiCoP nanowire heterostructures for highly efficient and stable overall water splitting

• Published in: Chinese chemical letters Vol. 33; no. 8; pp. 4003 - 4007
• Main Authors: Jiang, Yong, Li, Yurong, Jiang, Yimin, Liu, Xiaorui, Shen, Wei, Li, Ming, He, Rongxing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2022; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Southwest University,Chongqing 400715,China
• Subjects: DFT; Heterostructure; Interface engineering; OER; Water-splitting; Heterostructure; Interface engineering; Water-splitting; DFT; OER
• ISSN: 1001-8417; 1878-5964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2021.11.088

Developing efficient and inexpensive OER electrocatalysts is a challenge for overall water splitting. Herein, the heterostructured FeCo LDH@NiCoP/NF nanowire arrays with high performance were rationally designed and prepared using an interface engineering strategy. Benefitting from the special heterostructure between FeCo LDH and NiCoP, the as-synthesized FeCo LDH@NiCoP/NF electrocatalyst exhibits outstanding OER performance with an exceptionally low overpotential of 206 mV to achieve 20 mA/cm2 current density in an alkaline electrolyte. Importantly, a cell constructed using the FeCo LDH@NiCoP/NF electrocatalyst as cathode and anode just needs a voltage of 1.48 V at 10 mA/cm2, and shows excellent stability over 80 h. Experimental and theoretical results verified that the introduction of NiCoP efficiently regulates the electronic structure of FeCo LDH, which tremendously boosts the conductivity and intrinsic catalytic activity of FeCo LDH@NiCoP/NF electrocatalyst. The present work provides guidance for the preparation of other efficient and cheap electrocatalytic materials. FeCo LDH@NiCoP/NF is designed with interface engineering strategy to improve the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity for water splitting. It requires only a cell voltage of 1.48 V at 10 mA/cm2 and shows excellent stability over 80 h. The outstanding performance originates from strong electronic coupling of the interfaces. [Display omitted]