High performance of metal-organic framework-derived catalyst supported by tellurium nanowire for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract In this study, a tellurium nanowire (NwTe) structure was synthesized as a template, and then a nanoscale zeolitic imidazolate framework 67 (Nano-Z67) was subsequently grown on it, denoted as Nano-Z67/NwTe. After pyrolyzed at a high temperature, the coordinated cobalt ion of Nano-Z67 and NwTe were transferred into the CoTe nanorods, which were encapsulated by a nitrogen-containing carbon nanowire (CN). The Nano-Z67/NwTe catalyzes the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with the electron-transfer number of 3.997 which is high than that of Pt/C with 3.995. The high ORR activity of Nano-Z67/NwTe attributed to the cobalt–nitrogen bond, carbon-nitrogen bond, and the NwTe-templated specific morphology, in which the CN serves as the conductive channel for electron transport. Remarkably, Nano-Z67/NwTe-750 not only demonstrates competitive performance compared with the Pt/C catalyst but also excellent stability.