ZIF-Derived Co@Fe-P Electrocatalyst With Core-Shell Structure for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Rational design of non-noble electrocatalysts with high performance for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) still remains a challenge. In this study, a ZIF-derived electrocatalyst (Co@Fe-P) with a core-shell structure is designed by using Co-compounds as the core and {\text{PO}}_4^{3-} decorated Fe-compounds as the shell. The inner Co-core and outer Fe-shell are connected through Co─O─Fe and Fe─O─P linkage. The Co@Fe-P electrocatalyst exhibits an enhanced performance for OER with a low overpotential (280 mV), low Tafel slope (41.9 mV dec⁻¹) at 10 mA cm⁻², and a 60-h durability. The electron transfer from the CoOOH-core to the FeOOH-shell is greatly facilitated, which improves the OER activity of Co@Fe-P kinetically. Theoretical calculations indicate that the interaction of Co─O─Fe and Fe─O─P in Co@Fe-P reduces the overlap between the O 2p and Fe 3d orbitals, which greatly facilitates the transformation from *OH to *O during the OER process via the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) pathway. This finding provides insight for the design of efficient electrocatalysts for OER.

Keywords

Co@Fe-P / core-shell structure / OER / ZIF-derived electrocatalyst

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