Gas–solid phase flow synthesis of Cu–Co-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Abstract

Using an environmentally friendly method to produce a stable and highly catalytically active electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is becoming increasingly urgent. Herein, a novel bimetallic metal–organic framework (MOF), specifically a copper–cobalt 1, 3, 5-benzenetricarboxylate (Cu–Co-BTC) MOF, was successfully prepared by employing the gas–solid two-phase flow (GSF) synthetic technique. The as-prepared Cu–Co-BTC with its multiple active sites afforded a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at 239 mV for the OER in a 1 mol L⁻¹ KOH solution, and showed a better electrocatalytic performance than did single-metal-containing Cu-BTC and Co-BTC materials. This work provides a new idea, one involving using novel gas–solid phase reactions for the preparation of electrocatalysts in large quantities.