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Metal–organic framework derived CoSe2 nanoparticles anchored on carbon fibers as bifunctional electrocatalysts for efficient overall water splitting

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Abstract

The development of efficient, low-cost, stable, non-noble-metal electrocatalysts for water splitting, particularly those that can catalyze both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode, is a challenge. We have developed a facile method for synthesizing CoSe2 nanoparticles uniformly anchored on carbon fiber paper (CoSe2/CF) via pyrolysis and selenization of in situ grown zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). CoSe2/CF shows high and stable catalytic activity in both the HER and OER in alkaline solution. At a low cell potential, i.e., 1.63 V, a water electrolyzer equipped with two CoSe2/CF electrodes gave a water-splitting current of 10 mA·cm−2. At a current of 20 mA·cm−2, it can operate without degradation for 30 h. This study not only offers a cost-effective solution for water splitting but also provides a new strategy for developing various catalytic nanostructures by changing the metal–organic framework precursors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, China

    Chencheng Sun, Qiuchun Dong, Jun Yang, Ziyang Dai, Jianjian Lin, Wei Huang & Xiaochen Dong

  2. School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, 637459, Singapore, Singapore

    Peng Chen

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  1. Chencheng Sun
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  2. Qiuchun Dong
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  3. Jun Yang
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  4. Ziyang Dai
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  6. Peng Chen
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  7. Wei Huang
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  8. Xiaochen Dong
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Correspondence to Peng Chen, Wei Huang or Xiaochen Dong.

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Sun, C., Dong, Q., Yang, J. et al. Metal–organic framework derived CoSe2 nanoparticles anchored on carbon fibers as bifunctional electrocatalysts for efficient overall water splitting. Nano Res. 9, 2234–2243 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1110-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1110-1

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