ZIF-L was deposited onto NF prepared by facilely immersing NF into a solution of cobalt nitrate and 2-methylimidazole at room temperature. The morphology of the ZIF-L/NF sample was analyzed bySEM, which allows for detailed imaging of the sample surface at high magnification. The crystal structure of the synthesized catalyst was determined using powder XRD.
Figure 2a, d, and g illustrate the triangular ZIF-L plates with smooth surfaces vertically aligned on the NF. The sharp diffraction peaks at 44.5°, 51.9°, and 76.2° are attributed to the Ni substrate, and the peak at 29.4° belongs to ZIF-L. This confirms the successful fabrication of ZIF-L on NF. After selenization, ZIF-L transformed into CoSe
2 phase while maintaining its morphology, except that the surface became rougher (
Figure 2b, e, and h). Subsequently, NiFeOOH was electrochemically deposited onto CoSe
2, resulting in a morphological change where CoSe
2 formed an array with increased surface roughness and additional folds. XRD analysis of the CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF sample showed no visible peaks except those of the Ni substrate, suggesting the amorphous structure in the NiFeOOH layer. [
27] The absence of XRD signals for CoSe
2 demonstrates that a relatively compact NiFeOOH layer is formed on the CoSe
2 surface. The three-dimensional CoSe
2@NiFeOOH can aid in the transportation of electrolytes and the diffusion of reactive gases, thereby accelerating the reaction process. [
27]
The detailed morphology of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH was further characterized by TEM.
Figure 1a shows that CoSe
2@NiFeOOH possesses a thin-leaf like morphology. The weak polycrystalline rings in the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern (
Figure 2c) indicate the poor crystallization of these thin-leaf structures in the single derived CoSe
2@NiFeOOH. (
Figure 2c). The structure of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF was precisely characterized using high-resolution TEM (HRTEM). At the top surface of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH, two fringes with lattice spacings of 0.259 and 0.223 nm are observed, corresponding to the (111) and (210) planes of CoSe
2, respectively. Elemental mapping images demonstrate the homogeneous dispersion of Ni, Fe, Co, Se, and O elements throughout the entire CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were performed to analyze the elemental composition and chemical valence states of the as-prepared CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF. As shown in
Figure 3a, two peaks centered at 855.7 and 873.5 eV were identified as the main peaks corresponding to oxidized Ni 2p
3/2 and Ni 2p
1/2, respectively. Another two peaks at 861.2 and 879.3 eV were attributed to the shakeup satellite peak. [
28]
Figure 3b displays the Co 2p
1/2 and Co 2p
3/2 peaks, which can be further divided into four peaks located at 796.8/780.8 eV (Co
2+) and 783.8/802.2 eV (Co
3+). This suggests that the Co atom in CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF is predominantly in the valence states of +2 and +3. [
28] In the XPS spectra of Fe 2p (
Figure 3c), two characteristic peaks at 712.9 and 726.1 eV correspond to Fe 2p
3/2 and Fe 2p
1/2, respectively, indicating the presence of Fe
3+. [
29] The findings collectively indicate that Ni and Fe exist as Ni and Fe oxidation states in CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF. Furthermore, the analysis of the Se 3d peak reveals that the peak at 54.5 eV corresponds to Se 3d in CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF, and the presence of a peak at 59.2 eV indicates bonding between Se and O, confirming the surface oxidation of Se species. [
30,
31,
32,
33]
The catalysts’ OER performance was assessed using an electrochemical three-electrode system in a 1 M KOH alkaline solution. As shown in
Figure 5a, CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF exhibits an overpotential of 254 mV at 100 mA cm
-2, which is significantly lower than that of CoSe
2/NF, NiFe-LDH/NF, NF/Selenization, CoSe
2@NiOOH/NF, and CoSe
2@FeOOH/NF. The OER activity of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF is also among the best OER electrocatalysts reported. (
Table S1). The Tafel slopes of the four samples, namely CoSe
2@FeOOH/NF, CoSe
2@NiOOH/NF, CoSe
2/NF, and CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF, were calculated to analyze their kinetics. As shown in
Figure 5c, CoSe
2@NiFeOOH possesses the smallest Tafel slope of 73 mV dec
-1, much smaller than those of CoSe
2@FeOOH/NF (102 mV dec
-1), CoSe
2/NF (119 mV dec
-1) and CoSe
2@NiOOH/NF (126 mV dec
-1), suggesting a faster OER kinetics. To gain further insight into the kinetics of electron transfer, EIS measurements were performed.
Figure 5b displays the Nyquist plots of all the samples. Notably, the CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF sample exhibits the smallest diameter of the semicircle in the high frequency region, which unequivocally confirms the presence of charge-transfer resistance (R
ct). This resistance facilitates smooth charge transfer, ultimately resulting in excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. Additionally, to understand the intrinsic catalytic activity of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF for OER, the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) was estimated by measuring the double-layer capacitance (C
dl) in the potential range of 1.07-1.17 V at scan rates ranging from 10 to 50 mV s
-1 (
Figure S1). Interestingly, CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF exhibits the highest Cdl value of 29.0 mF cm
-2 among all the samples, surpassing those of CoSe
2@NiOOH/NF (23.1 mF cm
-2) and CoSe
2@FeOOH/NF (20.5 mF cm
-2). Furthermore, the electrocatalytic stability of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF was evaluated. As depicted in
Figure 5h, the current variation is negligible after a 100-hour continuous test at 1.54 V. The overpotential increase for every 50 mA cm
-2 of current density is illustrated in
Figure 5f. It is evident from the
Figure 5a that CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF has a significantly lower overpotential than CoSe
2@FeOOH/NF and CoSe
2@NiOOH/NF, signifying higher catalytic activity of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH.
Figure 5e illustrates the chrono-potentiometric curve of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH, showing multiple steps with the current density incrementing from 10 to 100 mA cm
-2 in ten steps. In the initial step, the potential rapidly stabilizes at 1.44 V and remains nearly constant for a duration of 320 s. Similar phenomena are observed in the subsequent steps, indicating the exceptional mass transport and electronic conductivity characteristics of CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF. The faradaic efficiency for OER on the CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF electrodes was evaluated by measuring the O
2 produced during a constant current test experiment. According to
Figure 4g, the measured amount of O
2 is in close agreement with the theoretical yield, resulting in a remarkable faradaic efficiency of 97.8% for the CoSe
2@NiFeOOH/NF electrode.