Crystal Engineering Enables Cobalt-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks As High-Performance Electrocatalysts for HO Production

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with highly adjustable structures are an emerging family of electrocatalysts in two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e-ORR) for HO production. However, the development of MOF-based 2e-ORR catalysts with high HO selectivity and production rate remains challenging. Herein, an elaborate design with fine control over MOFs at both atomic and nano-scale is demonstrated, enabling the well-known Zn/Co bimetallic zeolite imidazole frameworks (ZnCo-ZIFs) as excellent 2e-ORR electrocatalysts. Experimental results combined with density functional theory simulation have shown that the atomic level control can regulate the role of water molecules participating in the ORR process, and the morphology control over desired facet exposure adjusts the coordination unsaturation degree of active sites. The structural regulation at two length scales leads to synchronous control over both the kinetics and thermodynamics for ORR on bimetallic ZIF catalysts. The optimized ZnCo-ZIF with a Zn/Co molar ratio of 9/1 and predominant {001} facet exposure exhibits a high 2e selectivity of ∼100% and a HO yield of 4.35 mol g h. The findings pave a new avenue toward the development of multivariate MOFs as advanced 2e-ORR electrocatalysts.