Fe-Incorporated Metal-Organic Cobalt Hydroxide Toward Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Metal-organic cobalt hydroxide emerges as a cost-effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in energy conversion. However, the limited active sites and poor conductivity hinder their large-scale application. This study employed salicylate as a bridging ligand to synthesize iron-incorporated metal-organic cobalt hydroxide. The influence of Fe intercalation on Co(OH)(Hsal) (where Hsal denotes o-HOC₆H₄COO⁻) was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Fe_0.2Co_0.8(OH)(Hsal) demonstrates remarkable electrocatalytic activity, displaying an OER overpotential of 298 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 57.46 mV dec⁻¹. This enhancement can be attributed to improved charge transfer kinetics and increased active sites. This work highlights the crucial role of Fe in improving the efficiency of Co-based oxygen-evolving catalysts (OECs) and its potential for boosting efficient hydrogen generation in alkaline environments.