Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube-coated cobalt and cobalt nitride heterojunction hierarchical structure for hydrogen evolution at full pH

Because of their special physical and chemical characteristics, the design and synthesis of nanomaterials with a synergistic interfacial structure offer a wide variety of prospective uses in the sphere of electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In the article, a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) nanotube-coated Co/CoN heterojunction (Co/CoN@NC) derived from the Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIFs)@g-C3N4 is reported. In addition to serving as a carbon and nitrogen source for the in-situ growth of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNT), ZIF67@g-C3N4 also functions as a self-template for the morphogenesis of a three-dimensional carbonized skeleton. Utilizing the beneficial interaction between the carbon coating and cobalt/cobalt nitride heterojunction, the optimized Co/CoN@NC catalyst drives a current density of 10 mA cm- 2 (eta 10) in 1 M KOH, 0.5 M H2SO4, and 1 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 92, 91 and 136 mV, respectively. This research presents a route towards the preparation of ZIFs-based electrocatalysts for all-pH hydrogen evolution.