Efficient and cost-effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts are critical for water electrolysis and renewable energy storage, yet the development of high-performance non-noble metal catalysts under mild conditions remains challenging. Herein, we report a facile strategy for fabricating bimetallic MNxCy-type catalysts by anchoring preorganized Fe/Ni-ligand complexes onto a layered coordination polymer, followed by a low-temperature thermal treatment at 350 °C. The ligand 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane coordinates with Fe and Ni ions to form well-defined molecular precursors, which are uniformly immobilized on the substrate to generate MNxCy active sites. This approach allows high production yield and precise control over metal loading and effectively suppresses metal aggregation. Comprehensive structural characterization confirms the uniform dispersion of Fe and Ni species, while electrochemical measurements demonstrate outstanding OER performance, including a low overpotential of 319 mV at 10 mA cm–2, a Tafel slope of 44 mV dec–1, and outstanding long-term stability. The strategy provides a scalable, cost-effective, and versatile route for the design of high-performance, OER electrocatalysts.
Zhang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.