MOF-derived metal/carbon materials as oxygen evolution reaction catalysts

Water splitting has acquired much attention as the most appealing technology for hydrogen production in order to deal with urgent energy requirements and environmental issues. However, implementation of this technology in a future global-scale sustainable energy supply system is impeded by the slow kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Several electrocatalysts have been developed so far to accelerate this reaction. Currently, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as both the precursor and template of metal/carbon materials by in situ carbonization, which can catalyze OER efficiently. Recent progress in MOF-derived metal/carbon materials as OER catalysts is summarized here, including their structures, synthetic procedures and specifically highlighting the applications of these materials in OER. At the end, the existing key challenges and research directions for enhancing their performance are pointed out.