Metal-organic frameworks-derived Ni2P@C Nanocomposite as a high-performance catalyst for hydrazine electrooxidation

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently emerged as one class of intriguing precursors to prepare electrocatalysts that feature high porosity, good conductivity and easy functionalization with other heteroatoms. We herein report a facile synthesis of MOFs-derived Ni2P@C nanocomposite as a promising anode electrocatalyst of direct hydrazine fuel cells (DHFCs). Our study found that Ni-MOFs nanosheets could be readily anchored to the Ni foam (NF) by a solvothermal process. Phosphatization treatment of the Ni-MOFs resulted in the formation of hierarchically nanostructured Ni2P@C, wherein the catalytically active Ni2P nanoparticles was encapsulated by disordered carbon shells. The thus-prepared self-supporting Ni2P@C/NF electrocatalyst was featured by large active surface area, 3D hierarchical porous structure and good electronical conductivity. Consequently, it exhibited impressively high activity, excellent stability as well as a nearly 100% selectivity toward N2H4 electrooxidation, outperforming most reported DHFC anode electrocatalysts.