One-dimensional MoO2–Co2Mo3O8@C nanorods: a novel and highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction catalyst derived from metal–organic framework composites

One-dimensional MoO2-Co2Mo3O8@C nanorods were synthesized by using MoO3@ZIF-67 composites as a precursor for the first time, and it is found that the Co2Mo3O8 species and its composite have excellent OER activities. The MoO2-Co2Mo3O8@C nanorods present favorable electrocatalytic advantages toward OER in alkaline solution, requiring an overpotential of only 320 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm-2. In addition, the catalyst also shows a small Tafel slope of 88 mV dec-1 and relatively good durability. The attractive OER performance can be attributed to the highly active Co2Mo3O8 and MoO2 species and the unique structure of the catalyst. This strategy can be extended to design and synthesize other novel and highly efficient molybdenum based ternary metal oxides as OER catalysts.