Co/C nanomaterial derived from Co metal-organic framework for oxygen evolution reaction

The precursor of Co metal organic framework (MOF) was first synthesized by hydrothermal method; then, the optimal Co-MOF was pyrolyzed in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain the derivative (Co/C). The as-prepared materials were finally applied to water splitting to investigate their oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance. A series of electrochemical tests such as linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that Co/C (700 degrees C) exhibits lowest overpotential (420 mV) and charge transfer resistance (R-ct = 5.25 Omega), smallest Tafel slope (119 mV dec(-1)) as compared to other relevant materials. After the cyclic life test of 10,000 s, the current density of Co/C (700 degrees C) remained at 94.88%. In addition, the comparison of the OER performance between Co/C (700 degrees C) with other reported cobalt-based materials illustrates that Co/C (700 degrees C) has lower overpotential, and its Tafel slope is also comparable with these reported cobalt-based materials. Therefore, Co/C (700 degrees C) has broad application prospect in oxygen-evolution reaction.