Hydrothermal Synthesis of Metal-Polyphenol Coordination Crystals and Their Derived Metal/N-doped Carbon Composites for Oxygen Electrocatalysis

Cobalt (or iron)-polyphenol coordination polymers with crystalline frameworks are synthesized for the first time. The crystalline framework is formed by the assembly of metal ions and polyphenol followed by oxidative self-polymerization of the organic ligands (polyphenol) during hydrothermal treatment in alkaline condition. As a result, such coordination crystals are even partly stable in strong acid (such as 2 M HCl). The metal (Co or Fe)-natural abundant polyphenol (tannin) coordination crystals are a renewable source for the fabrication of metal/carbon composites as a nonprecious-metal catalyst, which show high catalytic performance for both oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. Such excellent performance makes metal-polyphenol coordination crystals an efficient precursor to fabricate low-cost catalysts for the large-scale application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries.