Linear Conjugated Coordination Polymers for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Conjugated coordination polymers (CCPs) have attracted extensive attention for various applications related to energy storage and conversion in the past few years, despite that there are many CCPs with unclear chemical states and structures. Here, linear CCPs (LCCPs), with metal-O-4 active sites grown on carbon paper (CP) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), are presented. The LCCPs with high crystallinity and simple structures exhibit the order of electrocatalytic activity of Co-O-4 > Ni-O-4 > Fe-O-4 in terms of the metal-O-4 centers. The Co-based LCCP shows higher OER performance (263 mV at 10 mA cm(-2)) and better durability (90 h at 30 mA cm(-2)) than commercial IrO2/CP. The structures and chemical states of LCCPs are carefully investigated, and density functional theory is used to reveal the mechanism of OER at the central metal site. This investigation into LCCPs provides new sights for a better understanding of CCPs and expands the applications of LCCPs with metal-O-4 sites.

Automated summary

Conjugated coordination polymers (CCPs) have been studied extensively for their applications in energy storage and conversion. This research focuses on linear CCPs (LCCPs) with metal-O-4 active sites on carbon paper (CP) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The LCCPs with high crystallinity and simple structures show different electrocatalytic activities based on the metal-O-4 centers. The Co-based LCCP exhibits superior OER performance and durability compared to commercial IrO2/CP.