Selective Reduction–Oxidation Strategy to the Conductivity-Enhancing Ag-Decorated Co-Based 2D Hydroxides as Efficient Electrocatalyst in Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The design and synthesis of high-performance catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial for electrocatalysis reaction. In this study, the new Ag-decorated Co-based hydroxides nanosheets with good performance as well as gram-scale yield are prepared by a selective reduction–oxidation method in virtue of the different stability of metal in air. The doping of silver obviously raises the electrical conductivity of the catalysts. Due to the synergistic reaction of the high electrical conductivity and the original active sites, the overpotential of the as-prepared Ag-decorated Co(OH)2 nanosheets is as low as 270 mV at 10 mA/cm2. Compared to the pure Co(OH)2 nansheets, the overpotential decreased about 80 mV at the same current density. Especially, different from the general preparation methods, this process can be carried out at room temperature and does not need any strict condition. And the gram-scale output gives this method potential for industrial production.