MOFs and MOF Derived N-doped Porous Carbon Materials as Heterogeneous Catalysts: Chemical Fixation of Carbon Dioxide under Mild Conditions and Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

Two flexible tetracarboxylic acids with ether (H4AOIA) and amine (H4ANIA) linkages have been employed for the formation of two distinct Co-metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with diverse architectures. Both the MOFs were shown to demonstrate remarkable catalytic activities for the chemical conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonates under ambient reaction conditions with considerably high turnover number values. Further, carbonization of the two-dimensional-MOF, Co-ANIA, under inert atmospheric conditions at a temperature of 800 °C resulted in the formation of cobalt containing N-doped nanocomposite (Co@NPC2). In the context of generation of a sustainable source of energy and to carry out successive conversions, the single-component nanocomposite, Co@NPC2, was shown to act as an efficient cost-effective non-noble metal electrocatalyst through its electrochemical activity toward hydrogen evolution.