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High-Current Oxygen Evolution via Synergistic Ag Incorporation in Zn-Based Metal-Organic Framework Electrocatalysts
Xiaoyu Liu1, Agasthiyaraj Lakshmanan1, Tao Zhao1
1China-Uzbekistan Joint Laboratory on Advanced Porous Materials, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Based Fiber Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Silver-Zinc bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (Ag-Zn MOFs) on nickel-iron alloy foam efficiently catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction. This Ag-doped catalyst enables stable, low-overpotential water splitting for industrial applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Developing efficient electrocatalysts is crucial for industrial-scale water splitting.
- Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable structures but often require modification for enhanced catalytic activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize Ag-Zn bimetallic MOFs on NiFe alloy foam (NFF) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysis.
- To investigate the effect of silver (Ag) doping on the electrochemical performance and structural evolution of Zn-MOFs.
Main Methods:
- One-step hydrothermal synthesis of AgxZn1-x-MOFs on NFF.
- Electrochemical characterization including overpotential and Tafel slope measurements.
- In situ characterization using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
Main Results:
- Optimized Ag10Zn90-MOF/NFF demonstrated low overpotentials (220 mV at 10 mA/cm²) and stable operation for 120 hours.
- In situ reconstruction yielded an amorphous Ag/Zn oxyhydroxide phase (R-Ag10Zn90-MOF) with enhanced OER activity.
- Ag doping narrowed the bandgap to 0.189 eV and reduced the rate-determining step (RDS) energy barrier to 1.66 eV.
Conclusions:
- Electrochemical restructuring plays a vital role in activating MOF catalysts for OER.
- Ag doping is an effective strategy to enhance the catalytic performance of Zn-MOFs.
- The developed Ag-Zn MOF/NFF catalyst shows promise for industrial water splitting applications.
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