To meet the rising global energy demand there is a need to go beyond conventional sources of energy production and storage. Hydrogen production via the electrocatalytic splitting of water is one of the most promising technologies. The development of materials that can efficiently catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a half-reaction in the water-splitting process, is an area of active research. Toward this end, nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH), a 2D material, has shown promise as an excellent candidate for OER catalysis in alkaline conditions (pristine form has an overpotential of ~280 mV at 10 mA cm-2). This research work will show that the OER performance of the LDH can be improved by modifying the structure of the pre-synthesized NiFe-LDH by thermal treatment, inducing the loss of carbonate ions and water molecules from the interlayer, along with generating oxygen and nickel vacancies. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy imaging with electron dispersion spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy were used to characterize the material. The OER activity is further enhanced by incorporating small quantities of silver to the structure of the LDH after heating. NiFe-LDH modified with suitable vacancies and silver incorporation in tandem results in the rather low overpotential of 195 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is 85 mV lower than the pristine material.

Nickel iron layered double hydroxide modified with silver metal and nickel vacancies for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.