ZIF-derived atomically dispersed non-precious metal catalysts for electrochemical energy applications

Asad Mehmood^a, Simon Dietzmann^a, Jian Liang Low^a, Tim-Patrick Fellinger^a

^aDivision 3.6 – Electrochemical Energy Materials, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 44-46, 12203 Berlin

Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference (MATSUSSpring25)

Multifunctional microporous materials for advanced applications in materials science - #FunPorMat

Sevilla, Spain, 2025 March 3rd - 7th

Organizers: Pablo del Pino and Beatriz Pelaz

Oral, Asad Mehmood, presentation 251
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.251
Publication date: 16th December 2024

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) which are a subtype of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively used to prepare catalyst materials for a variety of electrochemical reactions for energy conversion and storage applications. Most notable examples of ZIFs used for that purpose include ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 etc. Particularly ZIF-8 with its high surface area, defined pore structure and tunable particle size is widely utilized as a platform material to prepare so-called metal- and nitrogen-doped carbon (M-N-C) catalysts with M= Co, Fe, Ni, Zn etc., which are an emerging class of catalyst materials [1], [2]. The active sites in M-N-Cs ideally have M-N₄ coordination resembling to metal centres in macromolecules such as porphyrins and phthalocyanines [3]. Most representative examples of M-N-Cs include Fe-N-Cs, Co-N-Cs and Ni-N-Cs etc. which are showing promising activities for a variety of electrochemical reactions e.g. oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The structures of M-N-C catalysts are quite complex and require a fine balance between morphological, electronic, and chemical properties to reach optimal electrocatalytic activities. In this talk, I will present our activities on (i) the preparation of phase-pure M-N-C catalysts derived from ZIF-8 via active-site imprinting [4],[5] and highlight the benefits of our strategy to achieve high density of active sites and enhanced electrochemical performance levels [6] and (ii) feasibility of using gas physisorption techniques as a new approach to quantify active sites in M-N-Cs. The challenges of maximizing active site utilization and eliminating unfavourable mass-transport characteristics faced by ZIF-8 derived M-N-Cs in electrochemical energy devices e.g. fuel cells will also be briefly discussed.

References:

[1] Proietti, E.; Jaouen, F.; Lefèvre, M.; Larouche, N.; Tian, J.; Herranz, J.; Dodelet, J.-P. Iron-based cathode catalyst with enhanced power density in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Nat. Commun. 2011, 2, 416.

[2] Liu, S.; Li, C.; Zachman, M. J.; Zeng, Y.; Yu, H.; Li, B.; Wang, M.; Braaten, J.; Liu, J. et al. Atomically dispersed iron sites with a nitrogen–carbon coating as highly active and durable oxygen reduction catalysts for fuel cells. Nat. Energy, 2022, 7, 652-663.

[3] Menga, D.; Low, J. L.; Li, Y.-S.; Arčon, I.; Koyutürk, B.; Wagner, F.; Ruiz-Zepeda, F.; Gaberšček, M.; Paulus; B.; Fellinger, T.-P. Resolving the Dilemma of Fe–N–C Catalysts by the Selective Synthesis of Tetrapyrrolic Active Sites via an Imprinting Strategy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 18010-18019.

[4] Mehmood, A.; Pampel, J.; Ali, G.; Ha, H. Y.; Ruiz‐Zepeda; F. ; Fellinger, T. P. Facile Metal Coordination of Active Site Imprinted Nitrogen Doped Carbons for the Conservative Preparation of Non-Noble Metal Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts. Adv. Energy Mater. 2018, 8, 1701771.

[5] Menga, D.; Ruiz-Zepeda, F.; Moriau, L.; Sala, M.; Wagner, F.; Koyuturk, B.; Bele, M.; Petek, U.; Hodnik, N.; Gaberscek; M.; Fellinger, T. P. Active-Site Imprinting: Preparation of Fe–N–C Catalysts from Zinc Ion–Templated Ionothermal Nitrogen-Doped Carbons. Adv. Energy Mater. 2019, 9. 1902412.

[6] Mehmood, A.; Gong, M.; Jaouen, F.; Roy, A.; Zitolo, A.; Khan, A.; Sougrati, M.-T.; Primbs, M.; Bonastre; A. M.; Fongalland, D.; Drazic, G.; Strasser, P.; Kucernak, A. High loading of single atomic iron sites in Fe–NC oxygen reduction catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Nat. Catal. 2022, 5, 311-323.

nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.

MATSUS

Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.

Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics

The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.

International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics

The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.