A new type of catalyst for enhancing water decomposition capacity: MOF-derived materials doped with citric acid

Abstract

Electrolytic hydrogen production is an important part of hydrogen energy development and has a promoting effect on the improvement of the current world energy pattern. However, due to the high cost, low efficiency and poor stability of the catalyst, electrolytic hydrogen production cannot be effectively promoted. Herein, we report a novel MOF-derived catalyst for water electrolysis that achieves commercial-grade hydrogen production performance at significantly reduced cost, offering a promising alternative for clean energy systems. The catalyst was prepared by hydrothermal incorporation of citric acid into ZIF67@ZIF8 metal–organic frameworks, followed by carbonization to expose abundant Co active sites and enhance the specific surface area. Morphological characterization and electrochemical analysis reveal superior OER and HER activities, thus underpinning its exceptional water splitting performance. Notably, the catalyst exhibits an ultralow OER overpotential of 361 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and an HER overpotential of 168 mV at the same current density. For overall water splitting, it requires only 1.637 V to reach 10 mA cm⁻²—comparable to the commercial Pt/C‖IrO₂ benchmark. Moreover, the catalyst also exhibits better stability in long-term water electrolysis tests, which endows it with greater potential for practical production applications. This work demonstrates that rational design of MOF-derived materials with chelating agent modification enables cost-effective hydrogen production via water electrolysis, bridging the gap between non-noble metal catalysts and commercial counterparts.