Highly Active TAL2 and TAL4 Metal-Organic Framework Derived Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst

The development of green energy conversion technologies and sophisticated energy storage devices are crucial for a sustainable future. Currently, metal-air batteries and fuel cells promise cost-effective, efficient and clean operation. However, highly active bifunctional noble-metal-free catalyst materials are needed to boost sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions for replacing conventional benchmark catalysts (Pt/C; RuO2/IrO2). Herein, we report highly active manganese and cobalt containing metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived bifunctional electrocatalyst with rich porous and well-dispersed structure. Mn/Co-containing material displayed excellent electrocatalytic performance toward both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (Ej=10 =1.66 V; E1/2 = 0.85 V vs RHE, 0.1 M KOH) due to the desired active sites and architecture. Proposed bifunctional electrocatalyst was also tested in Zn-air battery setup and demonstrated outstanding durability within 10 h cycling without any noticeable degradation and great efficiency with high power density.