Abstract
Developing an efficient, green, and low-cost non noble metal catalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been urgent for new generation of sustainable energy technologies. Herein, the Co/Ni metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived metal phosphides/carbon matrix composites are successfully produced by the precipitation-carbonization-phosphorization processes. The obtained samples are characterized and analyzed for structural and morphological investigation. Electrochemical tests for OER are performed in the alkaline medium. The positive effects of P, Ni doping in MOFs on the structure and properties of composites have been analyzed. Benefitting from the unique structure of three-dimensional flower-like polyhedron with rich structure and higher porosity, the NiCo-P/NC catalyst exhibits the lowest overpotential of 0.32 V compared with the commercial IrO2 (0.34 V) at 10 mA/cm2, as well as outstanding stability and kinetic mechanism. Besides, the cost of the proposed novel material is calculated to be 4.337 US$/g, which is only 1.57% of that of commercial IrO2 (276 US$/g). The results obtained from the MOF-derived low-cost and high-efficiency OER catalyst would provide a new perspective on application of electrochemical storage and batteries.