Co-Ni Nanoalloy-Organic Framework Electrocatalysts with Ultrahigh Electron Transfer Kinetics for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

Developing low-cost yet efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is of paramount importance for the widespread application of renewable energy technologies. Here, a promising catalyst of the Co-Ni nanoalloy-organic framework (Co-Ni NOF) that significantly accelerates the ORR kinetics process has been synthesized by a straightforward pyrolysis strategy. This Co-Ni NOF catalyst with robust stability and strong methanol tolerance exhibits remarkable ORR activity with an excellent half-wave potential of 0.88 V (30 mV superior to that of commercial Pt/C) and an outstanding kinetic current density of 162.9 mA/cm(2) at 0.80 V in 0.1 M KOH, which is 17 times that of Pt/C and outperforms most non-noble catalysts reported so far. The electronic structure characterizations demonstrate that the alloying of Co-Ni could optimize the intrinsic charge distribution of the Co-Ni NOF catalyst and thus motivates the charge transfer kinetics for the oxygen reduction process. This work provides some useful insights into the design of novel highly active non-noble metal catalysts for ORR.