In situ-generated Co@nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes derived from MOFs for efficient hydrogen evolution under both alkaline and acidic conditions

Abstract

Electrocatalytic water splitting producing hydrogen is of great importance for renewable energy storage and conversion technologies. In recent years, low-cost and high-efficiency electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) have attracted a lot of attention. Herein, we report that in situ-generated Co@nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Co@NCNTs) derived from metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) were fabricated by a facile method and corresponding HER activities were investigated in detail. Among these hybrids, the Co@NCNTs-800 hybrid shows outstanding electrocatalytic activity and stability, which is one of the best Co-based electrocatalysts for the HER under both alkaline and acidic conditions reported to date, benefiting from the synergistic effect from Co nanoparticles, N dopants, and CNTs. Most importantly, this work paves a new way for designing novel, efficient, and inexpensive HER electrocatalysts derived from MOFs as promising alternatives to Pt or Pt-based materials.