MXene and Ru doping co-enhanced the hydrogen evolution reaction performance of cobalt pyridinedicarboxylic...

Great efforts have been conducted to improve the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Nevertheless, the limited number of active sites and low electrical conductivity of MOFs have a detrimental impact on the HER performance. Herein, we modulate the electronic structure and improve the electrical conductivity of Co-pyridinedicarboxylic (Co-PDC) framework via Ru doping and hybridization with MXene nanosheets, which in turn enhance its HER performance. The as-prepared Ru-doped Co-PDC@MXene (RCPM) composite catalyst exhibits an overpotential of only 36.1 mV, enabling the achievement of a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 for HER in 1 M KOH. Furthermore, the current density can still remain 93.6 % for 50 h of the stability test. The electrolytic water device with RCPM as the cathode and ruthenium oxide as the anode, requires a voltage of 1.58 V to drive water splitting at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2, and demonstrates the stable operation for 50 h. Such excellent performance is attributed to the electronic modulation and synergistic effect between Co/Ru sites and MXene.