Binary Ni-Co-Based Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoneedle Arrays for High Performance of Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts are crucial for water-splitting reactions. Some non-precious metal electrocatalysts are proved to be good replacements for noble metal due to the unique electronic structure features and excellent performance. In this work, binary Ni-Co-based layered double hydroxide nanoneedle arrays electrocatalysts are synthesized on Ni foam (NF) via a hydrothermal process. The microstructure and the catalytic performance of the catalyst changes significantly by regulating the molar ratio of Ni/Co. The theoretical analysis confirmed that the as-prepared NiCo-LDH nanoneedle arrays reveal a potential behavior in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a lower overpotential of 305 mV at 10.0 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 110.38 mV dec−1. The double-layer capacitance (Cdl) is 776 mF cm−2, which indicates that there are many active sites that are exposed on the surface for the electrocatalytic reaction. The results provide an obvious reference value to other types of LDH catalysts for the development of water electrolysis.