Composition‐Dependent Morphology, Structure, and Catalytical Performance of Nickel–Iron Layered Double Hydroxide as Highly‐Efficient and Stable Anode Catalyst in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Advanced Functional Materials, vol. 32

Abstract

Abstract Water splitting is an environmentally friendly strategy to produce hydrogen but is limited by the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop highly efficient electrocatalysts. Here, NiFe layered double hydroxides (NiFe LDH) with tunable Ni/Fe composition exhibit corresponding dependent morphology, layered structure, and chemical states, leading to higher activity and better stability than that of conventional NiFe LDH‐based catalysts. The characterization data show that the low overpotentials (249 mV at 10 mA cm –2 ), ultrasmall Tafel slopes (24 mV dec –1 ), and high current densities of Ni 3 Fe LDH result from the larger fraction of trivalent Fe 3+ and the optimized local chemical environment with more oxygen coordination and ordered atomic structure for the metal site. Owing to the active intermediate species, Ni(Fe)OOH, under OER conditions and a reversible dynamic phase transition during the cycling process, the Ni 3 Fe LDH achieves a high current density of over 2 A cm –2 at 2.0 V, and durability of 400 h at 1 A cm –2 in a single cell test. This work provides insights into the relationship between the composition, electronic structure of the layer, and electrocatalytic performance, and offers a scalable and efficient strategy for developing promising catalysts to support the development of the future hydrogen economy.

Authors 14

1. Wulyu Jiang Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Mechanical Engineering RWTH Aachen University 52056 Aachen Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

2. Alaa Y. Faid

   Norwegian University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim N‐7491 Norway

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, N-7491 Norway

3. Bruna Ferreira Gomes

   University of Bayreuth

   Affiliation as printed

   Electrochemical Process Engineering University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth Germany

   Electrochemical Process Engineering, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany

4. Lu Xia Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Mechanical Engineering RWTH Aachen University 52056 Aachen Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

5. Carlos Manuel Silva Lobo

   University of Stuttgart

   Affiliation as printed

   Institut für Technische Chemie Universität Stuttgart Pfaffenwaldring 55 70174 Stuttgart Germany

6. Morgane Desmau

   Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Elektronen‐Synchrotron (DESY) Notkestraße 85 22607 Hamburg Germany

7. Patrick Borowski

   Evonik (Germany)

   Affiliation as printed

   Evonik Operations GmbH Rellinghauser Strasse 1–11 45128 Essen Germany

8. Heinrich Hartmann

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Central Institute for Engineering Electronics and Analytics—Analytics (ZEA‐3) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

9. Artjom Maljusch

   Evonik (Germany)

   Affiliation as printed

   Evonik Operations GmbH Rellinghauser Strasse 1–11 45128 Essen Germany

10. Astrid Besmehn

    Forschungszentrum Jülich

    Affiliation as printed

    Central Institute for Engineering Electronics and Analytics—Analytics (ZEA‐3) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

11. Christina Roth

    University of Bayreuth

    Affiliation as printed

    Electrochemical Process Engineering University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth Germany

    Electrochemical Process Engineering, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany

12. Svein Sunde

    Norwegian University of Science and Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Materials Science and Engineering Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim N‐7491 Norway

    Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, N-7491 Norway

13. Werner Lehnert Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

    Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Faculty of Mechanical Engineering RWTH Aachen University 52056 Aachen Germany

    Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

    Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany

14. Meital Shviro corresponding

    Forschungszentrum Jülich

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK‐14) Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH 52425 Jülich Germany