Fe-modulated NiFex Co Layered Double Hydroxide on Ni Foam for Efficient Oxygen Precipitation Reaction in Alkaline Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production

Water electrolysis for hydrogen production has important application prospects in a dual-carbon background. Therefore, it is crucial to develop efficient and inexpensive electrodes for electrocatalytic hydrolysis of OER. In this study, an efficient catalyst for the oxygen precipitation reaction, $\mathrm{NiFe}_{\mathrm{x}} \mathrm{Co}-\mathrm{LDH} / \mathrm{NF}$ electrode, was prepared by using a water bath heating method to address the advantages of the alkaline water electrolysis method for hydrogen production. The effects of different Fe concentrations on the electrode performance were investigated by modulating the Fe concentration. The experimental results showed that the oxygen precipitation overpotential of $\mathrm{NiFe}_{x} \mathrm{Co}-\mathrm{LDH}$ nanosheets gradually decreased with the increase of the Fe concentration, among which the lowest oxygen precipitation overpotential of $\mathrm{NiFe}_{0.6} \mathrm{Co}-\mathrm{LDH}$ nanosheets was 243.4 mV. The Tafel slope analysis showed that $\mathrm{NiFe}_{0.6} \mathrm{Co}-\mathrm{LDH} / \mathrm{NF}$ electrode had the lowest Tafel slope, which indicated that it had a faster kinetic reaction process. The results of cyclic voltammetry curves and electrochemical impedance spectra further verified the excellent performance of the $\mathrm{NiFe}_{0.6} \mathrm{Co}-\mathrm{LDH} / \mathrm{NF}$ electrode. Therefore, this study provides new ideas and methods for catalyst design and performance optimization in alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production technology.