N-doped CoMo MOFs-derived carbon nanospheres electrocatalyst with Co/ Mo-N bonds as bimetallic active sites for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

The development of high activity, low-cost and stability hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is a core issue in the field of water splitting. Herein, the bimetallic CoMo MOFs-derived N -doped carbon nanospheres with Co/Mo-N bonds is proposed to effectively improve the electrocatalytic HER performance. Meanwhile, the combination of the porous and spherical structure further promotes the effective contact on the electrode/ electrolyte interface while enhancing the electrolyte into the inner structure of the material for a fast HER process. In addition, the N -doped and bimetallic Co/Mo oxides on the rough surface of nanospheres have the capability to furnish more electrocatalytic active sites. The obtained electrocatalyst owns the small overpotential of 112 mV at 10 mA cm -2 and Tafel slope of 106.8 mV dec-1 in 1.0 M KOH solution. This work provides a new prospect for the rational design and fabrication of bimetallic active sites in carbon nanomaterials electrocatalysts in the relevant energy applications.