Polymeric Nanofibers Containing CoNi-Based Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Nanoparticles for Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising catalysts for electrocatalytic applications. Their fascinating properties, such as high surface area, tunable metallocenters and functional groups, are highly notable. The incorporation of MOFs into the polymeric fibers is considered to be an important finding in various research fields. An electrospinning technique is considered to be the most reliable way to synthesize one-dimensional nanofibers. In this study, we have synthesized a bimetallic zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF) material, and the synthesized material is incorporated with a suitable polymer for the formation of nanofibers. The polymeric property of the obtained CoNi-ZIF-RT has been tested by annealing at 500 degrees C in nitrogen (N-2) and air atmospheric conditions, which were assessed for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1 M KOH. Because of its high polymeric nature along with its virtuous intrinsic activity, CoNi-ZIF-RT had shown high electrocatalytic OER activity with facile electron transfer and extraordinary stability. CoNi-ZIF nanofibers have been synthesized via an electrospinning approach and are denoted as CoNi-ZIF-RT, CoNi-ZIF-500-N-2, and CoNi-ZIF-500-Air as per their synthesis procedure. Interestingly, CoNi-ZIF-RT showed better OER activity in an alkaline medium compared to the other materials.