ZIF-67/PAN-800 bifunctional electrocatalyst derived from electrospun fibers for efficient oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived materials have been used as promising eletrocatalysts. However, the aggregation and poor conductivity are still obstacles for those eletrocatalysts. Herein, an effective method has been developed to overcome this problem by in-situ growth of ZIF-67 nanocrystals on the PAN fibers (ZIF-67/PAN) followed by the pyrolysis of ZIF-67/PAN fiber in 800 °C (ZIF-67/PAN-800). The obtained nanocomposite fibers showed that the isolated metal particles were anchored and linked up by carbon fibers, leading to elevated conductivity, preventing metal particles migration, and increasing stability. Such network structure provides facile pathways for efficient mass transport and shortens the electronic transmission path. As evidences, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic tests in this study both showed that ZIF-67/PAN-800 had an excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in alkaline electrolyte. This strategy may give on a new way to synthesis electrocatalytic nanocomposite fibers.