Co-CoO/ZnFe2O4 encapsulated in carbon nanowires derived from MOFs as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

Wenqi Liu; Yuming Zhou; Jiehua Bao; Jiaqi Wang; Yiwei Zhang; Xiaoli Sheng; Yi Xue; Chang Guo; Xinchun Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.11.037

Co-CoO/ZnFe₂O₄ encapsulated in carbon nanowires derived from MOFs as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Mar 1:561:620-628. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.11.037. Epub 2019 Nov 12.

Authors

Wenqi Liu¹, Yuming Zhou², Jiehua Bao¹, Jiaqi Wang¹, Yiwei Zhang³, Xiaoli Sheng¹, Yi Xue⁴, Chang Guo⁴, Xinchun Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Nanjing 211189, PR China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Nanjing 211189, PR China; Southeast University-Red Sun Research Center for Intelligent Industry, Nanjing 211189, Jiangsu, PR China. Electronic address: ymzhou@seu.edu.cn.
³ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Nanjing 211189, PR China; Southeast University-Red Sun Research Center for Intelligent Industry, Nanjing 211189, Jiangsu, PR China. Electronic address: zhangchem@seu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Nanjing 211189, PR China; Southeast University-Red Sun Research Center for Intelligent Industry, Nanjing 211189, Jiangsu, PR China; Nanjing Red Sun Biochemical Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu, PR China.
⁵ Southeast University-Red Sun Research Center for Intelligent Industry, Nanjing 211189, Jiangsu, PR China; Nanjing Red Sun Biochemical Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu, PR China.

PMID: 31771876
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.11.037

Abstract

Transition metals are increasingly attracting interest in electrocatalysts for use in water decomposition due to their excellent catalytic activity and stability. Simultaneously, metal-organic frameworks with designable metal ion centers and organic ligands are the promising precursors for the one-step synthesis of metal encapsulated in carbon composites for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report the successful construction of Co-CoO/ZnFe₂O₄ encapsulated in carbon nanowires (Co-CoO/ZnFe₂O₄@CNWs) by annealing as-synthesized nanowire Co/Zn/Fe-MOF at 400 °C in N₂. This structure provides the rich defect sites and active centers, and the synergy of Co, CoO and ZnFe₂O₄ lead to efficient hydrogen evolution when the composite is used as a catalytic electrode for HER in 1.0 M KOH. The catalyst shows a low initial overpotential (97 mV) and a small Tafel slope (138 mV dec^-1), and the overpotential at 10 mA cm^-2 is only 226 mV. In addition, this composite material exhibits excellent long-term durability even after 1000 cycles. It is expected that it is a potential alternative catalyst for rational utilization in the field of electrolytic water decomposition.

Keywords: Carbon material; Co-CoO/ZnFe(2)O(4); Co/Zn/Fe-MOF; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Nanowires.