Ultrathin Rhodium Oxide Nanosheet Nanoassemblies: Synthesis, Morphological Stability, and Electrocatalytic Application

Inspired by graphene, ultrathin two-dimensional nanomaterials with atomic thickness have attracted more and more attention because of their unique physicochemical properties and electronic structure. In this work, the atomically thick ultrathin Rh2O3 nanosheet nanoassemblies (Rh2O3-NSNSs) were obtained by oxidizing the atomically thick ultrathin Rh nanosheet nanoassemblies with HClO. For the first time, Rh-based nanostructures were used as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst in an alkaline medium. Surprisingly, the as-prepared Rh2O3-NSNSs displayed extremely improved catalytic activity and durability for the OER compared with those of the commercial Ir/C catalyst and most recently reported Ir-based electrocatalysts. The result indicated Rh-based nanostructures that have great promise to become a potential candidate for efficient OER electrocatalyst because of the similarity of Rh and Ir prices. These experimental results demonstrated the reasonable morphological control of Rh2O3 nanostructures could significantly improve their catalytic activity and durability during heterogeneous catalysis.