A novel and efficient method of MOF-derived electrocatalyst for HER performance through doping organic ligands

Abstract

Designing efficient, non-noble metal electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution is essential and highly desirable but still challenging. In this study, 1-Co was synthesized via solvothermal synthesis using cobalt nitrate and BPTA (BPTA = 3,5-bis(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazolyl). Based on 1-Co, through doping PMDA (pyromellitic dianhydride) organic ligands, Co/NC@PMDA could be obtained after calcination. The as-synthesized Co/NC@PMDA played an effective role in catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Under a low overpotential of 266 mV, the current density of Co/NC@PMDA can reach 10 mA cm⁻². Also, the Co/NC@PMDA material has a high Tafel slope (135.3 mV dec⁻¹) and excellent stability. At the same time, we used cobalt nitrate, BPTA and PMDA to synthesize a Co-MOF, and the result showed that its HER performance was worse than that of Co/NC@PMDA. This study provides a feasible idea for the synthesis of HER catalysts with excellent performance in the future.