# NiFe layered double hydroxides for oxygen evolution

> Nickel–iron layered double hydroxides are the benchmark oxygen-evolution catalysts in alkaline water. Iron in the nickel hydroxide layers boosts activity by orders of magnitude, far more than its effect on conductivity explains; grown as ultrathin plates on carbon nanotubes, NiFe-LDH outperformed iridium. Even trace iron in the KOH electrolyte matters.

- Page: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/electrocatalysis/nife-ldh-oxygen-evolution-catalyst
- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=nife-ldh-oer
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Electrocatalysis
- Method: OER catalyst
- Starting materials: Ni and Fe salts; for the hybrid, mildly oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes
- Product: NiFe-LDH: brucite-like (Ni,Fe)(OH)₂ layers with anions and water between them; ultrathin nanoplates on CNTs
- Key result: Activity ratios, Tafel slope and conductivity from the abstracts; LDH drawn from brucite-like layers (a = 3.1 Å) 7.8 Å apart; curves illustrative
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 67 editable layers (4 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **Structure**: Edge-sharing (Ni,Fe)(OH)₆ octahedra in layers; Fe³⁺ leaves a positive charge that carbonate between the layers balances
2. **Hybrid**: Incorporating Fe into nickel hydroxide gave NiFe-LDH nanoplates on CNTs, more active and stable than commercial Ir catalysts (Gong et al. 2013)
3. **Iron**: 40% Fe films: about 100× a fresh Ni film and 1000× an Fe film; Tafel slope 40 mV dec⁻¹ (Louie & Bell 2013)
4. **Under OER**: Fe shifts the Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH wave positive and lowers the average Ni oxidation state; they concluded the OER is catalysed by Ni (Louie & Bell 2013)
5. **Purity**: Fe-free Ni(OH)₂ shows no significant OER below 400 mV; KOH must be purified of Fe (Trotochaud et al. 2014)

## Strengths

- Earth-abundant Ni and Fe
- Among the fastest OER catalysts in base (Trotochaud et al. 2014)

## Limitations

- Alkaline only: not stable in acid
- Activity depends on Fe, including Fe impurities from the electrolyte

## Uses

- Alkaline and AEM water electrolyzers
- Metal–air batteries

## References

1. Gong, Li, Wang, Liang, Wu, Zhou, Wang, Regier, Wei & Dai, “An Advanced Ni–Fe Layered Double Hydroxide Electrocatalyst for Water Oxidation”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja4027715 (primary)
2. Louie & Bell, “An Investigation of Thin-Film Ni–Fe Oxide Catalysts for the Electrochemical Evolution of Oxygen”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja405351s (primary)
3. Trotochaud, Young, Ranney & Boettcher, “Nickel–Iron Oxyhydroxide Oxygen-Evolution Electrocatalysts: The Role of Intentional and Incidental Iron Incorporation”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja502379c (primary)
4. McCrory, Jung, Peters & Jaramillo, “Benchmarking Heterogeneous Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja407115p (further reading)

Credit: After Gong et al., JACS 2013 (doi:10.1021/ja4027715), Louie & Bell, JACS 2013 (doi:10.1021/ja405351s) and Trotochaud et al., JACS 2014 (doi:10.1021/ja502379c). LDH built at a = 3.1 Å, layers drawn 7.8 Å apart; activity ratios from Louie & Bell; curves illustrative.

## Questions

**What does the “NiFe layered double hydroxides for oxygen evolution” template show?** Nickel–iron layered double hydroxides are the benchmark oxygen-evolution catalysts in alkaline water. Iron in the nickel hydroxide layers boosts activity by orders of magnitude, far more than its effect on conductivity explains; grown as ultrathin plates on carbon nanotubes, NiFe-LDH outperformed iridium. Even trace iron in the KOH electrolyte matters.

**What are the steps shown in “NiFe layered double hydroxides for oxygen evolution”?** 1. Structure: Edge-sharing (Ni,Fe)(OH)₆ octahedra in layers; Fe³⁺ leaves a positive charge that carbonate between the layers balances. 2. Hybrid: Incorporating Fe into nickel hydroxide gave NiFe-LDH nanoplates on CNTs, more active and stable than commercial Ir catalysts (Gong et al. 2013). 3. Iron: 40% Fe films: about 100× a fresh Ni film and 1000× an Fe film; Tafel slope 40 mV dec⁻¹ (Louie & Bell 2013). 4. Under OER: Fe shifts the Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH wave positive and lowers the average Ni oxidation state; they concluded the OER is catalysed by Ni (Louie & Bell 2013). 5. Purity: Fe-free Ni(OH)₂ shows no significant OER below 400 mV; KOH must be purified of Fe (Trotochaud et al. 2014).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Ni and Fe salts; for the hybrid, mildly oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Product: NiFe-LDH: brucite-like (Ni,Fe)(OH)₂ layers with anions and water between them; ultrathin nanoplates on CNTs.

**Which papers is “NiFe layered double hydroxides for oxygen evolution” based on?** Gong, Li, Wang, Liang, Wu, Zhou, Wang, Regier, Wei & Dai, “An Advanced Ni–Fe Layered Double Hydroxide Electrocatalyst for Water Oxidation”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013 (doi:10.1021/ja4027715); Louie & Bell, “An Investigation of Thin-Film Ni–Fe Oxide Catalysts for the Electrochemical Evolution of Oxygen”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013 (doi:10.1021/ja405351s); Trotochaud, Young, Ranney & Boettcher, “Nickel–Iron Oxyhydroxide Oxygen-Evolution Electrocatalysts: The Role of Intentional and Incidental Iron Incorporation”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014 (doi:10.1021/ja502379c); McCrory, Jung, Peters & Jaramillo, “Benchmarking Heterogeneous Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013 (doi:10.1021/ja407115p).

**Can I edit the “NiFe layered double hydroxides for oxygen evolution” template?** Yes. Open it in the LabCanvas editor: all 67 layers are editable, including 4 generated objects (structures, plots, equipment) with their own settings. Change the text, colours and layout, then export PNG, TIFF, SVG or PDF.

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