NiCoFe Layered Triple Hydroxides with Porous Structures as High-Performance Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Abstract

We report a type of NiCoFe layered triple hydroxides (LTHs) supported on carbon fiber cloth (CFC) (NiCoFe LTHs/CFC) as high-performance electrocatalysts for overall water splitting in alkaline media. The NiCoFe LTHs/CFC as an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst shows excellent catalytic activity and durability, such as low overpotential of ∼239 mV at 10 mA cm–2, small Tafel slope of ∼32 mV dec–1 and conservation rate of catalytic activity (∼99%) after 12 h of continuous electrolysis at 20 mA cm–2. As a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst, NiCoFe LTHs/CFC also shows low onset potential, small Tafel slope, and superior durability. The NiCoFe LTHs/CFC-based overall water splitting exhibits a low onset potential (∼1.51 V), a low splitting potential (∼1.55 V) at 10 mA cm–2, and excellent durability, and the performance is comparable to that of IrO2/Pt-based overall water splitting. This work will open a new avenue toward the development of high-performance and inexpensive layered triple hydroxides electrocatalysts.