Nanosheet-assembled transition metal sulfides nanoflowers derived from CoMo-MOF for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Morphology and composition regulation of Prussian blue analogues to boost electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) have well-dispersed active sites and porous nanostructure. Reasonable design and construction of the nanostructure of PBAs is a promising option to obtain cost-effective electrocatalysts for high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Nevertheless, current structural engineering is costly and complex due to the inevitable involvement of additional etching agents or procedures. In this paper, a simple temperature-control strategy without additional etchant, is presented for the preparation of hollow CoFe-PBA precursors with porous nanobox structure, and then the hollow CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH nanoboxes (named as CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs) heterogeneous catalyst is obtained. The preferable composition and structure provide more accessible active sites and better electronic structure for OER. As a result, the optimized CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs demonstrates an impressive ability to accelerate OER in alkaline electrolyte with a minimal overpotential (219 mV at 10 mA cm-2) and excellent stability. More importantly, by combining CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs with Pt/C for overall water electrolysis, an ultra-low voltage (1.52 V at 10 mA cm-2) is required. This study offers a facile and effective idea for chemical and morphological control in the manufacture of efficient electrocatalysts.

High-Current-Density Glycerol Electrooxidation on S-Cu-Ni/NF Catalyst: Unveiling the Synergy between S-Promoted GOR and Cu-Inhibited OER

Electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) coupled with hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an ideal method to achieve efficient hydrogen production. However, realizing the stable degradation of glycerol to formate at high current densities still faces great challenges, mainly stemming from the competition between GOR and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at high potentials. To address this issue, in this study, S-Cu-Ni/NF catalysts were successfully synthesized using Cu-Ni/NF catalysts as precursors. The introduction of Cu effectively suppressed the OER, enabling the catalysts to achieve more than 75% formate Faraday efficiency over a wide potential range from 1.3 V vs RHE to 1.6 V vs RHE. Meanwhile, S doping significantly enhanced the electron transport ability of GOR, enabling the S-Cu-Ni/NF catalyst to achieve a high current density of 100 mA cm-2 at a low potential of 1.395 V vs RHE. In addition, after 24 h of continuous operation at a high current density of 100 mA cm-2, the catalyst potential increased by only 40 mV, demonstrating excellent stability. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectra (SEM-EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and in situ Raman characterization confirmed that the precipitation of S promoted the formation of the active site NiOOH and its dynamic growth during the GOR process. The present study not only improved the selectivity of formate at high potentials by inhibiting OER but also significantly enhanced the GOR performance, demonstrated the potential of stable degradation of glycerol at high current densities, and provided a feasible strategy for the industrial application of glycerol oxidation coupled with hydrogenolysis.

Highly Conductive Non-Calcined 2D Cu0.3Co0.7 Bimetallic-Organic Framework for Urea Electrolysis in Simulated Seawater

Global clean energy demands can be effectively addressed using the promising approach of hydrogen energy generation combined with less energy consumption. Hydrogen can be generated, and urea-rich wastewater pollution can be mitigated in a low-energy manner using the urea oxidation reaction (UOR). This paper seeks to assemble a unique electrocatalyst of a pristine 2D MOF, [Co(HBTC)(DMF)]n (Co-MUM-3), from 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) to oxidize urea in simulated seawater. Ni foam (NF)-based working electrodes were fabricated by incorporating a series of heterometallic CuCo-MUM-3 frameworks (Cu0.1Co0.9-MUM-3, Cu0.2Co0.8-MUM-3, Cu0.3Co0.7-MUM-3, and Cu0.4Co0.6-MUM-3), after which their application in the urea oxidation reaction was examined. A very low required overpotential [1.26 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 1 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl (simulated seawater) + 0.33 M urea] and a Tafel slope of 112 mV dec-1 could be observed for the Cu0.3Co0.7-MUM-3 electrocatalyst, ensuring the achievement of urea electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions at a corresponding 10 mA cm-2 electrocatalytic current density. A relatively lower overpotential will be evident compared to other reported pristine MOFs, outperforming the commercial catalyst RuO2 (1.41 V at 10 mA cm-2, 131 mV dec-1) and ensuring considerable stability at significantly high current densities for a minimum of 72 h.

2D Flower-like CdS@Co/Mo-MOF as Co-Reaction Accelerator of g-C3N4-Based Electrochemiluminescence Sensor for Chlorpromazine Hydrochloride

In this study, we have proposed an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) signal amplification system which is based on two-dimensional (2D) flower-like CdS@Co/Mo-MOF composites as a co-reaction accelerator of the g-C3N4/S2O82- system for ultrasensitive detection of chlorpromazine hydrochloride (CPH). Specifically, the 2D flower-like Co/Mo-MOF with mesoporous alleviated the aggregation of CdS NPs while simultaneously fostering reactant-active site contact and improving the reactant-product transport rate. This allowed the material to act as a novel co-reaction accelerator, speeding up the transformation of the S2O82- into SO4•- and enhancing the cathodic ECL emission of g-C3N4. Moreover, the signal probe which was synthesized by coupling the 2D CdS@Co/Mo-MOF and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) achieved the generation of SO4•- in situ and reduced energy loss. The results confirmed that the ECL signal was enhanced 6.2-fold and stabilized by CdS@Co/Mo-MOF. Based on the extremely strong quenching effect of chlorpromazine hydrochloride (CPH) on this system, a "signal-off" type sensor was constructed. The sensor demonstrated excellent sensitivity and linear response to CPH concentrations ranging from 1 pmol L-1 to 100 μmol L-1, with a low detection limit of 0.4 pmol L-1 (S/N = 3).

Innovative Air Cathode with Ni-Doped Cobalt Sulfide in Highly Ordered Macroporous Carbon Matrix for Rechargeable Zn-Air Battery

To realize the practical application of rechargeable Zn-Air batteries (ZABs), it is imperative to develop a non-noble metal-based electrocatalyst with high electrochemical performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, Ni-doped Co9S8 nanoparticles dispersed on an inverse opal-structured N, S co-doped carbon matrix (IO─NixCo9-xS8@NSC) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst is presented. The unique 3D porous structure, arranged in an inverse opal pattern, provides a large active surface area. Also, the conductive carbon substrate ensures the homogeneous dispersion of NixCo9-xS8 nanocrystals, preventing aggregation and increasing the exposure of active sites. The introduction of heteroatom dopants into the Co9S8 structure generates defect sites and enhances surface polarity, thereby improving electrocatalytic performance in alkaline solutions. Consequently, the IO─NixCo9-xS8@NSC shows excellent bifunctional activity with a high half-wave potential of 0.926 V for ORR and a low overpotential of 289 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for OER. Moreover, the rechargeable ZAB assembled with prepared electrocatalyst exhibits a higher specific capacity (768 mAh gZn -1), peak power density (180.2 mW cm-2), and outstanding stability (over 160 h) compared to precious metal-based electrocatalyst.

Bifunctional porphyrin-based metal-organic polymers for electrochemical water splitting

Electrochemical water splitting offers the potential for environmentally friendly hydrogen and oxygen gas generation. Here, we present the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical analyses of four organic polymers where metalloporphyrins are the active center nodes. These materials were obtained from the polymerization reaction of poly(p-phenylene terephtalamide) (PPTA) with the respective amino-functionalized metalloporphyrins, where M = Fe, 1; Co, 2; Ni, 3; Cu, 4. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images (SEM and TEM) show that these polymers exhibit a layer-type morphology, which is attributed to hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking between the metalloporphyrin nodes. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Among the materials studied, the cobalt-based polymer, 2, demonstrates a bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for oxygen (OER) and hydrogen (HER) evolution reactions with overpotentials (η10) of 337 mV and 435 mV, respectively. The Fe, 1, and Ni, 2, polymers are less active for HER with maximum current densities (jmax) of 12.6 and 19.1 mA cm-2 and η10 678 mV, 644 mV. Polymer 2 achieves a jmax of 37.7 mA cm-2 for HER and 133 mA cm-2 for OER. The copper-based material, 4, on the other hand, shows selectivity towards HER with an overpotential (η) of 436 mV and a maximum current density (j) of 45.5 mA cm-2. The bifunctional electrocatalytic performance was tested in the overall water-splitting setup, where polymer 2 requires a cell voltage of 1.64 V at 10 mA cm-2. This work presents a novel approach to heterogenized molecular systems, providing materials with exceptional structural characteristics and enhanced electrocatalytic capabilities.