Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Properties of Ni–Fe-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanomaterials

Designing efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is very important for renewable energy storage. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) attract widespread attention because of their excellent performance in electrochemical oxygen evolution. In this paper, the layered catalyst materials with different ratio of Ni and Fe were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis technique. It was found that the Ni–Fe-layered double hydroxides with a ratio of 3:1 had a higher catalytic activity for oxygen evolution with an overpotential of 366 mV and a Tafel slope of 38.34 mV dec⁻¹. The Ni–Fe compound with the ratio of 3:1 hold a higher electrical conductivity when the Ni–Fe LDH was calcinated at 600 °C and nitrogen protection conditions, resulting in a higher catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reactions. And its overpotential is 270 mV and the Tafel slope is 32.8 mV dec⁻¹.