Abstract
Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxygen evolution reactions (OER) are receiving considerable attention owing to their important roles in the overall water splitting reaction. In this contribution, ternary NiFeCo-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoplates were in situ hybridized with Ti(3)C(2)T (x) (the MXene phase) via a simple solvothermal process during which Ti(3)C(2)T (x) was partially oxidized to form anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles. The obtained Ti(3)C(2)T (x) /TiO(2)/NiFeCo-LDH composite (denoted as TTL) showed a superb OER performance as compared with pristine NiFeCo-LDH and comercial IrO(2) catalyst, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at a potential of 1.55 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (vs. RHE) in 0.1 M KOH. Importantly, the composite was further deposited on a standard BiVO(4) film to construct a TTL/BiVO(4) photoanode which showed a significantly enhanced photocurrent density of 2.25 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V vs. RHE under 100 mW cm(-2) illumination. The excellent PEC-OER performance can be attributed to the presence of TiO(2) nanoparticles which broadened the light adsorption to improve the generation of electron/hole pairs, while the ternary LDH nanoplates were efficient hole scavengers and the metallic Ti(3)C(2)T (x) nanosheets were effective shuttles for transporting electrons/ions. Our in situ synthetic method provides a facile way to prepare multi-component catalysts for effective water oxidation and solar energy conversion.