Transformation of microwave synthesized highly uniform FeMo-MIL-88B nanorod to oxynitride derivate for overall water splitting reaction

Abstract In search of inexpensive and efficient electrocatalyst for water electrolysis, three strategies to bring out the full potential of the most earth abundant transition metal, iron, are explored: MOF-templated morphology control, secondary metal incorporation, and nitrogen doping. This paper describes an ultrafast microwave-assisted synthesis of FeMo-MIL-88B followed by self-templated calcination via soft-urea path. The transformed 3D rod-shaped porous iron-molybdenum oxynitride (FeMoON) presents outstanding electrocatalytic performances in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and overall water splitting. The FeMoON electrode affords high current densities of 850 mA cm−1 at an overpotential of merely 364 mV for OER and 750 mA cm−1 at an overpotential of 400 mV for HER. The overall water-splitting demeanor surpasses that of commercial noble metal pair in high current densities and shows potential for long-term stability.