Effective Formation of a Mn-ZIF-67 Nanofibrous Network via Electrospinning: An Active Electrocatalyst for OER in Alkaline Medium

Finding the active center in a bimetallic zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF) is highly crucial for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In the present study, we constructed a bimetallic ZIF system with cobalt and manganese metal ions and subjected it to an electrospinning technique for feasible fiber formation. The obtained nanofibers delivered a lower overpotential value of 302 mV at a benchmarking current density of 10 mA cm(-2) in an electrocatalytic OER study under alkaline conditions. The obtained Tafel slope and charge-transfer resistance values were 125 mV dec(-1) and 4 Omega, respectively. The kinetics of the reaction is mainly attributed from the ratio of metals (Co and Mn) present in the catalyst. Jahn-Teller distortion reveals that the electrocatalytic active center on the Mn-incorporated ZIF-67 nanofibers (Mn-ZIF-67-NFs) was found to be Mn3+ along with the Mn2+ and Co2+ ions on the octahedral and tetrahedral sites, respectively, where Co2+ ions tend to suppress the distortion, which is well supported by density functional theory analysis, molecular orbital study, and magnetic studies.

Automated summary

In this study, a bimetallic ZIF system was constructed and nanofibers were obtained using electrospinning technique. The active center for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction was identified as Mn3+ in the Mn-incorporated ZIF-67 nanofibers, with Co2+ ions suppressing the Jahn-Teller distortion. The obtained nanofibers showed promising electrocatalytic performance with low overpotential and high current density.