Controlled assembly of cobalt embedded N-doped graphene nanosheets (Co@NGr) by pyrolysis of a mixed ligand Co(ii) MOF as a sacrificial template for high-performance electrocatalysts

The development of high-efficiency and durable bifunctional electrocatalysts is an important and challenging topic in the area of energy storage/conversion. Herein, we prepared metallic cobalt nanoparticle decorated N-doped graphitic sheets (Co@NGr) by adopting facile pyrolysis of a mixed ligand cobalt-based MOF (CoMOF-2) as a sacrificial template displaying good OER and HER activity. The catalytic material harvested at three different pyrolytic temperatures was characterized by various analytical methods such as PXRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, and XPS analyses. The catalytic activity of the obtained hybrid composite materials towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was studied. Co@NGr-900 was found to be an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst and 10 mA cm-2 current density was afforded at an overpotential of 390 mV for OER and 340 mV for HER respectively. This study provides insight for the development of cost-effective nonprecious element-based electrocatalysts for water splitting which has relevance in energy storage and conversion. Catalytic performance is governed by the synergistic compositional effect of metallic cobalt/nitrogen-doping in the graphitic carbon increasing the electrical conductivity/active sites of the composite material.