Mesoporous carbon-supported CO3O4 derived from Zif-67 metal organic framework (MOF) for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline medium

Coherent synthesis of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) employed as electrode materials for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction is the emerging trend in the production of clean energy. The present work focuses on MOF-derived catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction. Cobalt MOF (ZIF-67) is synthesized by chemical route, and carbon-supported Co3O4 is derived from ZIF-67. The hydrogen evolution reaction is carried out in basic and alkaline medium using carbon-supported Co3O4 as an electrode. The electrochemical investigation reveals the high activity for Co3O4/C in basic medium, which shows high rate of kinetics than the ZIF-67. The Tafel slope of the Co3O4/C was calculated to be 68.37 mV dec(-1) in basic medium and 71.66 mV dec(-1) in acidic medium, which possess a low charge transfer resistance of 2.12 and 2.54 omega, respectively. Results show that Co3O4/C in basic medium has high catalytic sites, which allows the catalyst to follow the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism as a rate limiting step.

Automated summary

The study focuses on MOF-derived catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction, specifically looking at the high activity of Co3O4/C in basic medium and its ability to follow the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism as a rate limiting step.