Recent advancements of NiFe-layered double hydroxides for enhanced catalytic activity and Durability in alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

Since the industrial revolution, the demand for fossil fuels has increased along with technological advancements, resulting in significant environmental pollution and global warming. To address these issues, the development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydrogen is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting energy demand. Among these, hydrogen energy is considered as a promising future energy source due to its energy density and environmentally friendly characteristics. Currently, grey hydrogen is predominantly produced through the steam reforming processes, which relies on fossil fuels and emits large amounts of carbon dioxide. Green hydrogen, generated using renewable energy and electrolysis, has emerged as a sustainable alternative. In electrochemical water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) needs a higher activation energy compared to the hydrogen evolution reaction, making the development of efficient OER catalysts crucial for energy-efficient hydrogen production. Although noble metal catalysts such as IrO2 and RuO2 are commonly used, their high cost and limited availability have prompted research into transition metal-based alternatives.</br>NiFe layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have gained attention for their excellent redox properties, charge transport abilities, and effective adsorption of reaction intermediates. However, bulk NiFe-LDHs exhibit low catalytic efficiency due to poor electrical conductivity and a limited number of active sites. To overcome these limitations, various structural modification methods have been developed to improve their catalytic activity and stability. This review provides recent research trends focused on enhancing the performance of NiFe-LDHs through strategies such as heteroatom doping, interface engineering, vacancy creation, and intercalation, with representative studies highlighted to demonstrate these advancements.