Bimetal doping in coordination polymer with Nimino–Npyridine–Nimino-based ligand for high-performance iron–nickel–nitrogen–carbon electrocatalysts

초록

Coordination polymers with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) become efficient templates to synthesize metal–nitrogen–carbon (M–N–C) catalysts for electrochemical applications owing to their abundant porosity and rich nitrogen content. Herein, Zn-based coordination polymer (ZnCP∗) is used to synthesize bimetallic iron–nickel–nitrogen–carbon (FeNi_NC∗) catalyst as electrocatalyst for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). ZnCP∗ is constructed by incorporating 2,6-bis[1-(4-carboxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine ([N3∗]) ligand into ZIF. The [N3∗] ligand—with Nimino–Npyridine–Nimino configuration—offers strong metal-binding capability owing to its electron-rich nitrogen sites. This coordination facilitates efficient incorporation of Fe and Ni into ZnCP∗ framework, forming a high density of Fe–Nx/Ni–Nx active sites after pyrolysis. The optimized FeNi_NC∗ demonstrates excellent electrocatalytic performance, achieving a half-wave potential of 0.90 V for ORR and an overpotential of 320 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for OER in 0.1 M KOH. These results highlight the potential of [N3∗] ligand and ZnCP∗ template in fabricating high-performance M–N–C catalysts for renewable energy applications. © 2026 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

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