Fe3+ induced etching of NiCo-MOF derived transformations into layered ternary hydroxides as efficient oxygen evolution catalyst

Hydrogen energy is the only new energy that meets the requirements of resources, environment and sustainable development due to its advantages such as rich resources, diverse sources, storable, renewable, high calorific value, clean and pollution-free. Electrochemical water splitting technology can achieve large-scale hydrogen production commercially, but the slow kinetics of OER process seriously hinders the development of electrochemical water splitting technology, therefore, high-efficiency and low-cost OER electrocatalyst is urgently needed. Here, we synthesized a layered ternary hydroxide NiCoFe-LTH@NiCo-MOF/NF-30 electrocatalyst with NiCo-MOF as the sacrificial template on conductive substrate nickel foam by a two-step solvothermal method, which requires only low overpotentials of 207 mV and 283 mV to achieve current densities of 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. Tafel slope is as low as 78.44 mV dec−1, and favorable electrochemical stability can be maintained for at least 50 h. The strategy may provide valuable references for future researchers to prepare better MOF-based electrocatalysts.