Immobilization of ferrocene and its derivatives within metal–organic frameworks with high loadings toward efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The use of an appropriate preparation route is the key to immobilize active molecules into a host matrix with high loadings and stability. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and general strategy to immobilize ferrocene and its derivatives into ZIF-8 with high loadings of up to 4.3% Fe content. The unique host pore structure allows for the stabilization of guest molecules and effectively prevents their leaching. As a result, the obtained electrocatalysts exhibit competitive oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic performance. Optimized Fc-CHO/ZIF-8 requires only a low overpotential of 238 mV to achieve 10 mA cm⁻², along with a relatively small Tafel slope of 44.4 mV dec⁻¹. This performance is superior to that of commercial IrO₂, suggesting its potential application in electrochemical energy conversion.