Efficient alcohol electro-oxidation based on a 3D Ni(II)-MOF with centrosymmetric Ni6 cluster

Designing economical and efficient anode catalysts is critical for the commercial use of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). In this work, a novel Ni(II)-based metal-organic framework (MOF), {[Ni3(mu 3-OH)(TMBTI)(1,4-bib) (H3O)}n (H6TMBTI = 2,4,6-trimethylbenzene-1,3,5-triylisophthalate, 1,4-bib = 1,4-bis(1-imidazoly)benzene) (CTGU-38, CTGU = China Three Gorges University), was successfully synthesized through solvothermal method. Structural analyses reveal that the CTGU-38 possesses a unique Ni6(mu 3-OH)2(COO)12 cluster and 3D porous framework with a rare (6,16)-connected topology. Further electrochemical experiments demonstrate that the CTGU-38 exhibits good electrocatalytic oxidation performance towards various alcohol fuel molecules, including the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), n-propanol oxidation reaction (NPOR), and isopropanol oxidation reaction (IPOR), with peak current densities ranging from 26.9 to 54.46 mA cm-2 in alkaline solution. These results indicate that the CTGU-38 appears to be a potential non-noble metal based electrocatalyst for DAFCs, and this work provides new insights into the design of more efficient electrocatalysts at the atomic scale for energy conversion.