Fe-doped Co3O4@C nanoparticles derived from layered double hydroxide used as efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Compared with noble metal catalyst, Co3O4-based electrocatalysts have attracted considerable interesting as low-cost alternatives for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the poor electrocatalytic activity still remains a huge challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a feasible approach through oxidation of CoFe layered double hydroxide (CoFe-LDH) to synthesize Fe-doped Co3O4@C nanoparticles with size of about 30-50 nm. As OER catalyst, the as-synthesized Fe-doped Co3O4@C nanoparticles exhibited superior OER performance with a small overpotential of 260 mV at the current density of 20 mA cm(-2), a small Tafel slope of 70 mV dec(-1) and long-term durability (there was no obviously OER current density degradation for 100 h) in alkaline solution. The present work opens a new avenue to the exploration of cost-effective and excellent electrocatalysts based on transition metal oxide materials to substitute precious metal materials for water splitting. (c) 2018 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.