an advanced graphene quantum dot/nife-layered double hydroxide for water oxidation in a neutral solution

herein, it is reported that the nanocomposite of graphene quantum dot (gqd) and nife-layered double hydroxide (ldh) is a highly active and stable electrocatalyst for water oxidation. the gqd/nife-ldh composite was prepared using the hydrothermal method and investigated using x-ray diffraction (xrd) and scanning electron microscopy (sem). based on the xrd and sem results, the synthesis of gqd/nife-ldh was confirmed. then, the gqd/nife-ldh composite was applied as an effective electrocatalyst for water oxidation. the obtained results from linear sweep voltammetry (lsv) curves show that gqd/nife-ldh improved water oxidation reaction with the overpotential of 323 mv in neutral media in comparison with pure nife-ldh, gqd, and ruo2. the improved oxygen generation is due to the association of nife-ldh nano-plate with gqd. high activity of gqd/nife-ldh can be attributed to excellent electrical conductivity from gqd and high electrochemical activity due to the presence of nife-ldh. the stability of the electrocatalyst was investigated by water oxidation for 5.5 h.