Hierarchical Ni/Co-hydroxides on NiCo2O4 for boosting the electrocatalytic activity of the oxygen evolution reaction

Herein, hierarchical Ni/Co-layered double hydroxide decorated NiCo2O4 electrocatalyst (NiCo-LDH@NCO) on nickel foam (NF) was synthesized using a facile hydrothermal method with electrochemical reconstruction. By converting the already existing NCO surface to hierarchical NiCo-LDH, a larger surface area and high electrical conductivity are obtained. Both structure and morphology of fabricated electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. The electrochemical reconstruction process is accompanied by changes in the morphology of the NCO that significantly increase accessibility to the electrolyte and active surface area. Therefore, the as-obtained electrocatalyst exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity and long-term stability for 35 h continuous reaction, superior-performing the reported other OER catalysts. In addition, this work opens a new path for the development of highly efficient and innovative low-cost OER electrocatalysts able to replace Pt-based metals for energy conversion devices. (c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.