An inorganic-MOF-inorganic approach to ultrathin CuO decorated Cu-C hybrid nanorod arrays for an efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Controllable design and synthesis are a great challenge to the fabrication of micro-/nano-structures of electrode materials in heterogeneous electrocatalysis. Herein, by virtue of an inorganic-MOF-inorganic (IMI) two-stage precursor approach, novel ultrathin CuO decorated Cu-C hybrid nanorod arrays supported on carbon fiber cloth (CFC) have been developed as highly efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and exhibit a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at an overpotential of 340 mV in 1.0 M KOH, ranking as one of the best copper-based OER catalysts. Further experimental results indicate that the ultrathin cupric oxide overlayers and special nanorod array morphology are crucial to boosting the electrocatalytic activity, which provides a new train of thought for utilizing low-cost and eco-friendly copper-based materials in energy storage/conversion.