Rh particles in N-doped porous carbon materials derived from ZIF-8 as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for the ORR and HER

Durable and efficient electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are crucial to the development of sustainable energy conversion. In this article, we report a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst derived from ZIF-8 through simple heat-treatment activation. The resultant catalyst is enriched with Rh nanoparticles in the carbon matrix, showing excellent ORR performance with a half-wave potential (E-1/2) of 0.803 V in alkaline electrolytes; it is simultaneously active for catalyzing the HER with an overpotential of 89 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm(2) in acidic electrolytes. The prepared RhNC-900 catalyst (1.47 wt% Rh) is comparable to the commercial Pt/C catalyst (20 wt% Pt) in terms of the ORR in alkaline media and might inspire new ideas for the development of fuel cells and water splitting.

Automated summary

This study presents a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst derived from ZIF-8 with Rh nanoparticles enriched in a carbon matrix, showing excellent performance in both ORR and HER. The catalyst is comparable to commercial Pt/C catalyst in terms of ORR in alkaline media, suggesting new possibilities for fuel cells and water splitting.