Iron Oxyhydroxide: Structure and Applications in Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the anodic half-reaction for crucial energy devices, such as water electrolysis, metal-air battery, and electrochemical CO2 reduction. Fe-based materials are recognized as one of the most promising electrocatalysts for OER because of its extremely low price and high activity. In particular, iron oxyhydroxide (FeOOH) is not only highly active toward OER, but also widely accepted as the true active species of Fe-based OER electrocatalysts for plenty of Fe-based materials are converted into FeOOH during OER test. Herein, the recent advances of FeOOH-based nano-structure and its application in OER are reviewed. The relationship between FeOOH structure and its catalytic performance, followed by the introduction of current strategies for enhancing the OER activity (i.e., crystalline phase engineering, element doping, and construction of hybrid materials) is mainly focused. Finally, a summary and perspective about the remaining challenges and future opportunities in this area and further the design of Fe-based OER electrocatalysts are provided.