Issue 39, 2018

An ultrathin cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework nanosheet array with a strong synergistic effect towards the efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Development of highly efficient and stable zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) nanosheets has recently received growing interest as alternatives to noble-metal electrocatalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we develop a novel vapor-phase hydrothermal growth strategy for in situ synthesis of ultrathin cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) nanosheets grown on the surface of Co(OH)2 nanosheets vertically aligned on electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EG) foil. Ultrathin ZIF-67 nanosheets with a thickness of ∼5 nm are uniformly coated on the surface of a Co(OH)2 nanosheet array to form a 2D core–shell structure. Benefitting from the strong coupling and synergistic effects, the resulting EG/Co(OH)2/ZIF-67 hybrid exhibits excellent catalytic activity for the OER in alkaline electrolytes, which only requires an overpotential of 280 mV to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a low Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1 and high stability. Such high OER performance for the EG/Co(OH)2/ZIF-67 hybrid is superior to that of commercial Ir/C catalysts and even better than that of all previously reported ZIF-based OER electrocatalysts. In situ Raman analyses demonstrate that under OER conditions, the Co–O species are converted into Co–OOH groups, which are responsible for the excellent catalytic activity of EG/Co(OH)2/ZIF-67 in the OER.

Graphical abstract: An ultrathin cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework nanosheet array with a strong synergistic effect towards the efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
28 Aug 2018
Accepted
17 Sep 2018
First published
18 Sep 2018

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018,6, 18877-18883

An ultrathin cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework nanosheet array with a strong synergistic effect towards the efficient oxygen evolution reaction

J. Cao, C. Lei, J. Yang, X. Cheng, Z. Li, B. Yang, X. Zhang, L. Lei, Y. Hou and K. (. Ostrikov, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 18877 DOI: 10.1039/C8TA08337A

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