MOF-derived FeNiCoOX hierarchical hollow nanocages for oxygen evolution reaction

•FeNiCoOX HHNCs were synthesized by cation exchange method and annealing process.•FeNiCoOX HHNCs combined structural advantages and multi-metal element compositions.•FeNiCoOX HHNCs exhibited superior electrocatalytic performance for OER. Highly efficient, inexpensive and stable electrocatalysts of oxygen evolution reaction are of great significance for the potential application of water splitting in new energy technology. In this work, we develop FeNiCoOX hierarchical hollow nanocages via a cation exchange reaction with annealing in air, which show excellent OER performances in 1 M KOH. This FeNiCoOx catalyst exhibits a small overpotential of 248 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a Tafel slope of 45.4 mV dec−1, as well as the remarkable stability. Excellent electrocatalytic performances are attributed to the synergistic effects from the multi-metal element compositions and the hierarchical hollow structures.