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In-situ formation of MOF derived mesoporous Co3N/amorphous N-doped carbon nanocubes as an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

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Abstract

The suitable materials, metal nitrides, are a promising class of electrocatalyst materials for a highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) because they exhibit superior intrinsic conductivity and have higher sustainability than oxide-based materials. To our knowledge, for the first time, we report a designable synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) and mesoporous Co3N@amorphous N-doped carbon (AN-C) nanocubes (NCs) with well-controlled open-framework structures via monodispersed Co3[Co(CN)6]2 Prussian blue analogue (PBA) NC precursors using in situ nitridation and calcination processes. Co3N@AN-C NCs (2 h) demonstrate better OER activity with a remarkably low Tafel plot (69.6 mV·dec−1), low overpotential of 280 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2. Additionally, excellent cycling stability in alkaline electrolytes was exhibited without morphological changes and voltage elevations, superior to most reported hierarchical structures of transition-metal nitride particles. The presented strategy for synergy effects of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-derived transition-metal nitrides-carbon hybrid nanostructures provides prospects for developing high-performance and advanced electrocatalyst materials.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2016R1A2B4015801).

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Author notes

  1. Bong Kyun Kang

    Present address: Present address: Nano Materials and Components Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, 463-816, Republic of Korea

  2. Seo Young Im

    Present address: Present address: School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nano Materials and Components Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, 463-816, Republic of Korea

    Bong Kyun Kang & Woo Seok Yang

  2. School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea

    Seo Young Im, Jooyoung Lee, Sung Hoon Kwag, Seok Bin Kwon, SintayehuNibret Tiruneh, Byungkwon Lim & Dae Ho Yoon

  3. Advanced Materials & Processing Center, Institute for Advanced Engineering (IAE), Yongin, 175-28, Republic of Korea

    Min-Jun Kim

  4. Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM), University of Wollongong, Squires Way, North Wollongong, NSW, 2500, Australia

    Jung Ho Kim

  5. Department of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 17104, Republic of Korea

    Jung Ho Kim

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  1. Bong Kyun Kang
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Correspondence to Dae Ho Yoon.

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In-situ formation of MOF derived mesoporous Co3N/amorphous N-doped carbon nanocubes as an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

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Kang, B.K., Im, S.Y., Lee, J. et al. In-situ formation of MOF derived mesoporous Co3N/amorphous N-doped carbon nanocubes as an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction. Nano Res. 12, 1605–1611 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2399-3

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