Electron Accumulation Induced by Electron Injection-Incomplete Discharge on NiFe LDH for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Optimizing the local electronic structure of electrocatalysts can effectively lower the energy barrier of electrochemical reactions, thus enhancing the electrocatalytic activity. However, the intrinsic contribution of the electronic effect is still experimentally unclear. In this work, the electron injection-incomplete discharge approach to achieve the electron accumulation (EA) degree on the nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe LDH) is proposed, to reveal the intrinsic contribution of EA toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Such NiFe LDH with EA effect results in only 262 mV overpotential to reach 50 mA cm⁻², which is 51 mV-lower compared with pristine NiFe LDH (313 mV), and reduced Tafel slope of 54.8 mV dec⁻¹ than NiFe LDH (107.5 mV dec⁻¹). Spectroscopy characterizations combined with theoretical calculations confirm that the EA near concomitant Vo can induce a narrower energy gap and lower thermodynamic barrier to enhance OER performance. This study clarifies the mechanism of the EA effect on OER activity, providing a direct electronic structure modulation guideline for effective electrocatalyst design.