NiCoP-CeO 2 composites for efficient electrochemical oxygen evolution.

In this study, a novel NiCoP-CeO 2 composite was constructed on a Ni foam by a simple hydrothermal method and thermal phosphating strategy. In the OER test, NiCoP-CeO 2 exhibited a low overpotential of 217 mV at 10 mA cm -2 , 45 mV dec -1 of Tafel slopes. With the help of theoretical calculations and experimental characterization, the reason for performance improvement was analyzed in depth. The results show that CeO 2 leads to a confinement effect, maintaining the nanosheet morphology of NiCo-LDHs, which contributes to sustaining the catalyst in favourable contact with H 2 O and minimizing the OER potential. Furthermore, by loading CeO 2 onto NiCoP, the hydrophilicity of the catalyst is significantly enhanced. Our work provides an ingenious synthesis strategy for the preparation of efficient and inexpensive electrocatalytic materials.