Recent advancements in NiFe-LDH (nickel-iron layered double hydroxide) for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have demonstrated its unparalleled potential as a cost-effective and highly efficient electrocatalyst. A breakthrough study published in *Nature Energy* revealed that NiFe-LDH nanosheets with optimized interlayer spacing (0.76 nm) achieved an overpotential of 230 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², outperforming commercial IrO₂ catalysts (280 mV). This enhancement is attributed to the improved mass transport and increased active site exposure facilitated by the precisely engineered interlayer structure. Furthermore, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) confirmed the dynamic formation of high-valent Ni³⁺/Fe⁴⁺ species under OER conditions, which are critical for lowering the energy barrier of the rate-determining step. These findings underscore the importance of structural engineering in optimizing NiFe-LDH for industrial-scale water electrolysis.
Another frontier in NiFe-LDH research focuses on defect engineering to further boost OER activity. A recent study in *Science Advances* introduced sulfur-doped NiFe-LDH, which exhibited a record-low overpotential of 210 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 38 mV dec⁻¹, compared to undoped NiFe-LDH (250 mV, 52 mV dec⁻¹). The sulfur doping induced lattice distortions and created oxygen vacancies, which enhanced electron transfer kinetics and stabilized reactive intermediates. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that sulfur doping lowered the adsorption energy of *OH intermediates by 0.3 eV, significantly accelerating the OER process. This defect engineering strategy opens new avenues for tailoring NiFe-LDH catalysts with atomic precision.
The integration of NiFe-LDH with conductive substrates has also emerged as a game-changer for OER performance. A groundbreaking study in *Advanced Materials* demonstrated that growing ultrathin NiFe-LDH on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) resulted in an overpotential of 195 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a remarkable stability of over 500 hours at 100 mA cm⁻². The synergistic effect between NiFe-LDH and N-CNTs facilitated rapid electron transfer and prevented catalyst aggregation during prolonged operation. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed a charge transfer resistance of only 2.3 Ω, significantly lower than that of standalone NiFe-LDH (15 Ω). This hybrid architecture exemplifies the potential of substrate engineering to enhance both activity and durability.
Recent innovations in operando characterization techniques have provided unprecedented insights into the mechanistic behavior of NiFe-LDH during OER. A study published in *Nature Catalysis* employed operando Raman spectroscopy to track the evolution of surface species on NiFe-LDH under varying potentials. The results revealed that the formation of γ-NiOOH phases at potentials above 1.45 V vs. RHE was accompanied by a drastic increase in OER activity, with current densities reaching 200 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of 270 mV. These findings highlight the critical role of phase transitions in optimizing catalytic performance and provide a roadmap for designing next-generation OER catalysts.
Finally, scalability and practical application have become central themes in NiFe-LDH research. A recent industrial-scale demonstration reported in *Energy & Environmental Science* showcased a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) incorporating NiFe-LDH as the anode catalyst, achieving a cell voltage of 1.75 V at 1 A cm⁻² with >90% Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen production. This performance rivals that of state-of-the-art noble metal-based systems while reducing material costs by over 80%. The successful integration of NiFe-LDH into commercial electrolyzers marks a significant milestone toward sustainable hydrogen production on a global scale.
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