Folic Acid Derived Bimetallic-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanostructures for Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution.

Abstract

Hydrogen production is one of the most effective methods for combating the global energy crisis. However, improving the electrochemical performance of oxygen-evolution catalysts is a significant challenge. In this paper, exceptionally active electrocatalysts for oxygen-evolution reactions (OERs) were successfully developed and characterized by using SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nitrogen-doped hollow-carbon-encapsulated bimetallic nanoparticles (MM'-NHCNPs) were prepared by using folic acid coordination polymerization. The hollow structure and the synergistic effect of bimetallic doping exhibited remarkable catalytic performance and outstanding stability for the OER in a 1.0 m KOH alkaline electrolyte. For the OER, the overpotential of the best catalyst was only 350 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a small Tafel slope of 58 mV dec-1 . High durability was also demonstrated by the MM'-NHCNPs. Such an MM'-NHCNP catalyst with excellent electrochemical properties provides a promising material for OERs.