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Constructing high-density active sites on hollow covalent organic polymers for efficient oxygen electrocatalysis
Shiyuan Fei1,2, Shuai Yang3, Zejin He1
1National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Nature Communications
|June 9, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to create highly active hollow covalent organic polymers (COPs) with cobalt-oxygen sites for efficient oxygen electrocatalysis, significantly boosting performance over traditional single-atom catalysts.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
- Electrochemistry
- Green Energy
Background:
- Covalent organic polymers (COPs) offer potential for catalysis, but limitations exist in creating diverse, high-performance catalytic sites via post-synthetic modification.
- Existing methods struggle with controlling the type, quantity, and overall efficiency of catalytic sites within COPs.
- Developing novel strategies for intrinsic catalytic site construction is crucial for advancing COP applications in energy conversion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an efficient template-source construction strategy for establishing catalytic sites within COPs.
- To synthesize hollow COPs with a high content of cobalt-oxygen (Co-O) active species for oxygen electrocatalysis.
- To investigate the catalytic mechanisms and performance enhancement compared to traditional methods.
Main Methods:
- Employed a template-source construction strategy to create hollow COPs incorporating Co-O active species (H-COP-Co).
- Utilized post-synthetic modification to create COPs with single Co sites (S-COP-Co) for comparative analysis.
- Conducted comprehensive spectroscopic characterization and theoretical calculations to elucidate reaction mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized H-COP-Co with a significantly increased active metal content (56.86%) compared to S-COP-Co (2.96%).
- H-COP-Co exhibited enhanced catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) compared to S-COP-Co.
- Mechanistic studies revealed that Co oxide nanoparticles in H-COP-Co operate via the oxide path mechanism, unlike the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) in S-COP-Co.
Conclusions:
- The template-source construction strategy is effective for creating multifunctional composite COP materials with superior catalytic properties.
- Intrinsic structural design and modulation of reaction mechanisms are key to enhancing energy conversion efficiency in COPs.
- Hollow COPs with Co-O active species show significant promise as efficient electrocatalysts for OER.
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