Boosting the activity of FeOOH via integration of ZIF-12 and graphene to efficiently catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract Transition metal oxyhydroxides have been used as promising electrocatalysts for water splitting however, their catalytic activity is restricted due to low surface area and poor conductivity. Herein, we report novel composite FeOOH@ZIF-12/graphene composite as electrocatalyst for water oxidation, whereby ZIF-12 provide extra surface for the FeOOH dispersion whilst graphene act as excellent electron mediator. The composite shows a low overpotential value of 291 mV to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a low Tafel slope value of 78 mV dec−1. The catalyst offers a maximum current density of 101 mA cm−2, while it gives a turnover frequency (TOF) value of 0.031 s−1 at an overpotential of 291 mV only. The excellent activity and remarkable stability of composite is attributed to highly conductive and porous support.