Amorphous NiCoBi in-situ generated and modified NiCoMOF nanosheets for highly efficient electrocatalysis towards OER in alkaline media

Abstract

The efficiency of electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production has been enormously impeded by the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Hence, it is highly imperative to investigate high-performance and low-cost OER catalysts. Herein, we present a simple route to achieve amorphous nickel cobalt borate in-situ generated and modified nickel cobalt organic framework (NiCoBi/NiCoMOF) electrocatalyst. Benefiting from the rough surface and abundant active sites provided by the unique amorphous-crystalline nanosheet structure, and the modulated electronic structure and enriched oxygen vacancies caused by the introduction of electronegative boronic acid anions, NiCoBi/NiCoMOF demonstrates clearly optimized catalytic activity and gratifying stability towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1.0 M KOH. This study not only provides an effective approach for designing transition metal borates using MOF as a precursor, but also introduces a novel method for developing efficient OER catalysts.