Department of Materials Science and Engineering , National University of Singapore , 9 Engineering Drive 1 , 117575 , Singapore.
Institute of Advanced Materials and Technology , University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083 , China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Jul 18;10(28):23807-23812. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b05948. Epub 2018 Jul 3.
Adoption of bare metal oxides as catalytic materials shows inferior electrochemical activity because of their poor electrical conductivity. Although synthetic strategies for the employment of conductive substrates are well-established, the rational design and fabrication of hollow metal oxides nanostructures on the robust matrix with a high surface area and conductivity remains challenging. In the present research work, a strategy that transforms a metal-organic framework thin layer into a nanostructured CuO/C hollow shell to coat on the 3D nano-dendritic Cu foams as an electrode was successfully developed. This electrode is claimed to provide an extraordinary electrocatalysis for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The hierarchical complex presents fast electronic transmission networks and rich redox sites, leading to the significant enhancement in electrocatalytic OER efficiency. Furthermore, the spherical porous structure and robust architecture facilitate the high-speed diffusion of O bubbles in a long-term operation. The results of this study may serve as a reference for the designing of novel class 3D metal/metal oxide hierarchical structures for gas-involved (i.e., O, H, and CO) electrocatalytic applications and beyond.
采用金属氧化物作为催化材料，由于其导电性差，表现出较差的电化学活性。虽然已经建立了使用导电基底的合成策略，但在具有高表面积和导电性的坚固基质上合理设计和制造空心金属氧化物纳米结构仍然具有挑战性。在本研究工作中，成功开发了一种将金属有机骨架薄膜转化为纳米结构的 CuO/C 空心壳，以涂覆在 3D 纳米树枝状 Cu 泡沫上作为电极的策略。据称，这种电极为碱性介质中的析氧反应 (OER) 提供了非凡的电催化性能。分层复合物呈现出快速的电子传输网络和丰富的氧化还原位点，从而显著提高了电催化 OER 效率。此外，球形多孔结构和坚固的结构有利于在长期运行中高速扩散 O 泡。本研究的结果可为设计新型类 3D 金属/金属氧化物分层结构提供参考，用于涉及气体（即 O、H 和 CO）的电催化应用及其他领域。
