Fabrication of Hollow CoP/FeP Nanocatalysts from Metal-Organic Frameworks for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions

The morphology and composition of nanocatalysts influence greatly on catalytic activities of both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen revolution reaction (OER). Via a thermal transformation of core-shelled metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), we synthesized a hollow nanocomposite containing highly distributed CoP and FeP nanoparticles (h-FeCoP) on a shell, which was used as the catalysts for electrochemical reactions, and showed superb catalytic performances with an overpotential of 329 mV for OER and a half-wave potential of 0.85 V for ORR, comparable to those of noble metal nanocatalysts. The interactions between CoP and FeP, and the effects of carbon contents on catalytic reactions were investigated. Finally, a rechargeable zinc-air battery using h-FeCoP as a cathode material was constructed and tested, which could be used as a power source for overall water splitting. A hybrid hollow nanostructure containing highly distributed CoP and FeP nanoparticles has been developed via the thermal transformation of a metal-organic framework, which showed excellent catalytic performances for oxygen evolution and reduction, and can be used as an electrode for Zn-air battery to power alkaline electrolyzer water. image