The Passive Effect of MXene on Electrocatalysis: A Case of Ti3C2Tx/CoNi-MOF nanosheets for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Herein, CoNi bimetallic metal-organic framework nanosheets (CoNi-MOFNs) in-situ grown on Ti3C2Tx MXene (CoNi-MOFNs@MX) were explored as a typical nanocomposite to study the impact of MXene on the electrocatalytic activity of MOF for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In contrast to previous reports, we observed a passive effect of Ti3C2Tx MXene on the OER performance of CoNi-MOFNs although the electronic conductivity of the nanocomposites was improved. The combined analysis of electrochemical results and atomic valence state characterization demonstrates that the decreased OER activity is likely ascribed to the unfavorable electron donation from Ti3C2Tx MXene, which suppresses the formation of active species for OER from the oxidation of Co2+ and Ni2+ to higher valence states in the nanocomposite. Consequently, more attention needs to be paid to the rational design of nanocomposites with MXenes for electrocatalytic applications.

Automated summary

The study found that Ti3C2Tx MXene had a passive effect on the OER performance of CoNi-MOFNs, potentially due to the inhibition of electron donation necessary for the formation of active species. This highlights the importance of carefully designing nanocomposites with MXenes for electrocatalytic applications.