In-situ Selenization of Co-based Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

•CoSe2 nanoparticles have been prepared by in-situ selenization of Co-based MOFs.•The CoSe2 nanoparticles were anchored into the MOFs architecture with N-doped carbon.•The MOF-CoSe2 exhibits excellent catalytic performance for HER.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived cobalt diselenide (MOF-CoSe2) constructed with CoSe2 nanoparticles anchored into nitrogen-doped (N-doped) graphitic carbon has been synthesized through in-situ selenization of Co-based MOFs. The obtained MOF-CoSe2 exhibits excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance: it shows a small Tafel slope of 42 mV dec−1, a low onset potential of 150 mV; it delivers a high current density and excellent long-term stability. Such enhancement can be attributed to the unique N-doped MOFs derived architecture with high conductivity, which can not only provide abundant active reaction sites, but also ensure robust contact between the CoSe2 nanoparticles and N-doped carbon matrix, leading to outstanding electrocatalytic activity for HER. This study provides a route to prepared non-noble-metal catalyst with high efficiency and excellent electrocatalytic activity for HER.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (252KB)Download full-size image