Engineering a synergistic CoMn-LDH/Fe₂O₃@NF heterostructure for highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction

The pursuit of low-cost, highly efficient energy materials remains a key challenge in clean energy technology. This study introduces a hybrid heterostructure, CoMn-LDH/Fe₂O₃@NF, comprising Fe₂O₃ nanosheets coated on CoMn nanowires (NWs) grown on nickel foam (NF). Notably, the heterostructure exhibits exceptional performance in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with remarkably low overpotentials (η) of 191 mV and 368 mV, yielding current densities (j) of 10 mA cm⁻² and 500 mA cm⁻², respectively. Moreover, when coupled with an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst, CoMn-LDH/Fe₂O₃@NF achieves j of 10 mA cm⁻² and 500 mA cm⁻² in overall water splitting at impressively low cell voltages of 1.48 V and 1.82 V, respectively. These exceptional advancements are attributed to the presence of electrochemically accessible active sites, rapid electron transport, and a strong synergistic effect between the Fe₂O₃ nanosheets and CoMn-LDH NWs. This innovative hybrid heterostructure design holds tremendous potential for advancing next-generation OER catalysts, effectively addressing the demand for cost-effective and highly efficient materials. Significantly, this study contributes to advancing sustainable and viable energy technologies.