Amorphous MOF Introduced N-Doped Graphene: An Efficient and Versatile Electrocatalyst for Zinc–Air Battery and Water Splitting

Abstract

Recently, developing metal–organic framework (MOF) derived carbon-based electrocatalysts has become more and more popular for large-scale application of renewable energy devices. However, the rational conversion of MOFs into a versatile platform for high-efficiency catalyst is still very challenging. Moreover, the relationship between the crystallinity of MOF precursor and the catalytic activity of resultant carbon-based catalyst is still not well-understood. In this work, a strategy for the synthesis of sheet-like mesoporous nitrogen-doped graphene (MNG) derived from amorphous MOFs is demonstrated. The amorphous MOF derived MNG showed much higher catalytic activity than that of nitrogen-doped carbon (MNC) derived from highly crystallized MOFs. This rationally designed MNG catalyst served as a multifunctional electrode in a zinc–air battery and a water splitting device, both of which showed electrocatalytic performance superior to those of platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts. The characterization analysi...