Mild Construction of Midas Touch Metal-Organic Framework-Based Catalytic Electrodes for Highly Efficient Overall Seawater Splitting

Mild construction of highly efficient and durable practical electrodes for overall water splitting (OWS) at industrial-grade current density is currently a significant challenge. Herein, metal-organic framework (MOF) materials are grown in situ on the surface of carbon cloth (CC) at 25 degrees C, and quickly interspersed by cobalt-boron (Co-B) via electroless plating for 30 min to obtain a highly efficient and stable CoB@MOF@CC self-supporting electrode. Owing to the large specific surface area, abundant active sites, and porous structure, the MOF-based CC modified by bamboo leaf-like ultrathin CoB has remarkable electrochemical catalysis efficiency. The CoB@MOF@CC electrode exhibits excellent performance during the hydrogen evolution reaction (eta(10) = 57 mV, eta(500) = 266 mV) and oxygen evolution reaction (eta(10) = 209 mV, eta(500) = 423 mV) in alkaline simulated seawater, and is durable for 2500 h at 500 mA cm(-2). The OWS performance is obviously enhanced by employing the prepared electrode, which only requires 1.49 V to achieve 10 mA cm(-2) and is durable for over 360 h at industrial-grade current densities in alkaline high-salt, real seawater, rainwater, and urea electrolytes.

Automated summary

The study presents a mild construction method for highly efficient and durable electrodes for overall water splitting. The self-supporting electrode, prepared by growing metal-organic framework on carbon cloth and plating with cobalt-boron, exhibits excellent performance in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. It also shows long-term stability in various electrolytes.