Co-entrapped, N-doped mesoporous carbons prepared from melamine formaldehyde resins with CoCl₂ as template for...

Cobalt-entrapped, nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon materials have been prepared using melamine formaldehyde resin (MF resin) as precursor and CoCl₂ as template. A fraction of CoCl₂ can be reduced to Co nanoparticles and wrapped by the nitrogen doped carbon. Meanwhile, the ratio of MF resin to CoCl₂ is an important parameter determining the mesoporous structures of the final products. The surface area of the obtained material decreases with the increase in the ratio of MF resin to CoCl₂. Electrocatalytic tests show that the obtained catalysts are highly active for hydrogen evolution reaction in both acidic and basic media, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at 171 and 186 mV under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. Additionally, these catalysts also show good long-term stabilities.