Lithium-induced amorphization of Ni–Fe layered-double-hydroxide for highly efficient oxygen evolution

Engineering structure is a promising pathway to adjust the physicochemical properties of materials to optimize the performance for various applications. Herein, we designed a highly efficient NiFe layered-double-hydroxide (NiFe LDH) nanosheets arrays catalyst for superior oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis by lithium-induced amorphization. Electrochemical lithium tuning of layered NiFe LDH crystal makes for the formation of amorphous NiFe intermediate with abundant active sites. It exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction with an overpotential of 259 mV at 50 mA cm −2 , a Tafel slope of 56 mV dec −1 and prominent long-term stability, better than the RuO 2 as benchmark catalysts. Experimental studies show that the electrochemical tuning contributes to the enhancement of NiFe LDH intrinsic activity due to crystallinity loss, morphology changes and formation of grain boundaries. This work enlightens a unique strategy to effectively design the advanced electrocatalysts by regulating the structure of material.