A mixed-ligand Co metal-organic framework and its carbon composites as excellent electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in green-energy devices

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are frequently made from noble metal-based oxides like ruthenium/iridium oxides. However, because of their scarcity and high price, researchers are now focusing on creating innovative OER catalysts based on affordable transition metals that have improved electrical conductivity and accessibility to active sites. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a unique class of inorganic materials with excellent physical and chemical properties, have witnessed significant progress in promising green energy systems. In this work, a novel mixed-ligand metal-organic framework [Co(mu-1 kappa N,2 kappa N '-BDP)(mu 3-1 kappa oo ',2 kappa o '' 2 kappa o '''-BTC)]n center dot nH2O (BDP = boron-dipyrromethene or BODIPY; BTC = benzene tricarboxylate) denoted as CoBDPMOF has been synthesized, and its composites with different carbon materials have been designed. Compared to the pristine MOF, the composites showed enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. In addition, the CoBDPMOF with activated carbon showed the highest OER performance with a low Tafel slope (82 mV dec-1) and the highest j600 (59.8 mA cm-2), outperforming noble metal IrO2, the OER benchmark electrocatalyst. This study presents new insights into the design and application of CoBDPMOF-based materials for energy conversion and suggests promising avenues for further research and development in electrocatalysis. The excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media using a new cobalt-based mixed-ligand metal-organic framework is described.

Automated summary

This study describes the excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media using a new cobalt-based mixed-ligand metal-organic framework. The composites of the framework with different carbon materials showed enhanced OER performance, surpassing the benchmark electrocatalyst IrO2.