An ultralow iridium-incorporated Ni-Fe bimetallic-organic framework for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Electrocatalyst development is critical for advancing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
• Existing electrocatalysts often face challenges with activity and long-term stability.
• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable structures for catalytic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and evaluate an optimized MOF-based electrode for enhanced OER performance.
• To investigate the catalytic activity and stability of a novel Ir-NiFe-btz/NF electrode.
• To demonstrate the potential of incorporating ultralow levels of iridium nanoparticles into MOFs.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of an optimized MOF electrode (Ir-NiFe-btz/NF) on a nickel foam (NF) substrate.
• Incorporation of ultralow levels of iridium (Ir) nanoparticles into an ionic bimetallic MOF.
• Electrochemical characterization of the electrode's OER activity and stability under alkaline conditions.

Main Results:

• The Ir-NiFe-btz/NF electrode exhibited outstanding OER activity.
• A low overpotential of 182 mV was required to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm^-2.
• The electrode demonstrated remarkable stability, with no significant overpotential increase over 100 hours of testing at 100 mA cm^-2.

Conclusions:

• The optimized MOF electrode, Ir-NiFe-btz/NF, shows significant promise for efficient and stable oxygen evolution reactions.
• Incorporating ultralow levels of Ir nanoparticles into bimetallic MOFs is an effective strategy for developing advanced electrocatalysts.
• This work contributes to the development of robust electrocatalysts for energy-related applications.