Open Active Sites in Ni-Based MOF with High Oxidation States for Electrooxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

The kinetics of electrocatalytic reactions are closely related to the number and intrinsic activity of the active sites. Open active sites offer easy access to the substrate and allow for efficient desorption and diffusion of reaction products without significant hindrance. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with open active sites show great potential in this context. To increase the density of active sites, trimesic acid was utilized as a ligand to anchor more Ni sites and in situ construct the nickel foam–loaded Ni-based trimesic MOF electrocatalyst (Ni-TMA-MOF/NF). When tested as an electrocatalyst for benzyl alcohol oxidation, Ni-TMA-MOF/NF exhibited lower overpotential and superior durability compared to Ni foam–loaded Ni-based terephthalic MOF electrocatalyst (Ni-PTA-MOF/NF) and Ni(OH)₂ nanosheet array (Ni(OH)₂/NF). Ni-TMA-MOF/NF required only a low potential of 1.65 V to achieve a high current density of 400 mA cm^–2. Even after 40000 s of electrocatalytic oxidation at 1.5 V, Ni-TMA-MOF/NF maintained a current density of 175 mA cm^–2 with ∼68% retention, showing its potential for benzyl alcohol oxidation. Through a combination of experimental and theoretical investigations, it was found that Ni-TMA-MOF/NF displayed superior electrocatalytic activity due to an optimized electron structure with high-valence Ni species and a high density of active sites, enabling long-term stable operation at high current densities. This study provides a new perspective on the design of electrocatalysts for benzyl alcohol oxidation.