Strategically incorporated V in rod-like Ni-MOF as an effective catalyst for the water oxidation reaction

Abstract

A significant advancement has been achieved in the field of energy conversion devices, particularly water splitting, with a metal–organic framework (MOF) as a promising candidate. The strategically optimized MOF exhibits astounding electrocatalytic efficiency towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, in this work, we have developed V-incorporated Ni–BTC, which shows promising catalytic performance towards the OER. Incredibly, it only requires a low overpotential of 250 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², which even outperforms the state-of-the-art RuO₂ catalyst. An inferior Tafel slope value of 50 mV dec⁻¹ indicates favourable reaction kinetics and electron transfer efficiency, making it genuinely a superior electrocatalyst for the OER in 1 M KOH solution. Moreover, V incorporation leads to an increase in the electrocatalytic active surface area and thus provides more active sites for the OH⁻/O₂ adsorption/desorption process. A 20-fold increase in TOF values (1784.77 h⁻¹) was also observed after the incorporation of V. Moreover, the NiV-based MOF demonstrates outstanding stability, further confirming its potential importance for sustainable electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices.