Amorphous Fe–Mo–O Nanostructures for Catalytic Water Oxidation

Promoting the development of highly efficient and long-term stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is crucial to relieve the energy crisis. In this study, amorphous Fe–Mo–O/NF was designed as an effective and durable catalyst for OER in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution. The OER catalytic performance of amorphous Fe–Mo–O/NF is obviously improved compared to Fe2O3/NF. The synthesized amorphous Fe–Mo–O/NF exhibits excellent catalytic activity and the current density reached 50 and 100 mA cm–2 in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution with only overpotentials of 215 and 224 mV. This remarkable electrocatalytic activity is considered as the following: (1) The pristine catalytic performance originates from the OER catalytic activity inherent in transition-metal Fe-based oxides electrocatalysts; (2) the introduction of Mo element increases the number of active sites; (3) the coupling synergy effect between metals is more conducive to the adsorption of oxygen intermediates; and (4) the tight bonding of the amorphous Fe–Mo–O nanostructures to the conductive substrate ensures the structure rapid electron transport and ultrahigh stability. We anticipate that our research will extend the range of transition-metal-based materials as effective electrocatalysts for OER.