In situ encapsulated nickel-copper nanoparticles in metal-organic frameworks for oxygen evolution reaction

Efficient and low-cost oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts for water-splitting are highly desired. This article reports an in situ synthesis of metal-organic framework (MOF) encapsulated bimetallic nanoparticles by etching nickel-copper alloy nanoparticles without additional metal precursors. The nickel-copper nanoparticles serve as the metal precursor sources and are encapsulated into metal-organic frameworks to enhance the catalytic performances and stability for OER. The catalyst shows excellent OER performance, superior to the copper-nickel nanoparticles and pure MOF-74. This work also provides a promising way to extend the application of MOFs for novel catalysts.