Ce-Doped NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide/NiFe₂O₄ Nanosheet Catalysts for Water Oxidation

It is imperative to develop electrocatalysts with excellent activity and robust stability for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) through simple, energy-saving methods. In this work, a Ce-doped NiFe layered double hydroxide/NiFe₂O₄ nanosheet hybrid electrocatalyst (labeled as Ce-NiFe LDH/NiFe₂O₄) was deposited on a nickel foam substrate through a simple one-pot hydrothermal route. Electrochemical investigations showed that the as-synthesized catalyst possessed 187 mV of low overpotential at 10 mA cm^–2 with a reverse scan mode in 1 M KOH solution along with superb durability of 316 h at a current density of 500 mA cm^–2, exhibiting excellent electrocatalytic performances. Experiments revealed that the introduction of NaCl and Ce³⁺ during the preparation could markedly promote the electrocatalytic property of the catalyst. Also, the as-prepared catalyst still presented outstanding OER electrocatalytic performances under harsh conditions, such as seawater and strong alkaline solutions, suggesting that the present catalyst bears great potential in practical applications.