Templated Synthesis of Nickel−Iron Layered Double Hydroxide for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation: Towards the Development of Non‐Precious‐Metal Catalysts

Abstract Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have recently attracted intense research attention because of their applications in the development of highly active and cost‐effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction and in the fields of drug delivery, energy storage, for example. In this work, we report a cheap and simple route for the synthesis of nickel–iron LDH (Ni−Fe LDH) using an iron‐based metal−organic framework, Fe‐MIL‐88 as a template. The prepared Ni−Fe LDH is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction techniques. Ni−Fe LDH is found to be highly active and stable for water oxidation in alkaline solution as compared to commercial Pt/C. The concept of using a metal−organic framework as a structure‐directing agent to synthesize Ni−Fe LDH and the use of the material for the oxygen evolution reaction is explored for the first time.