Coordination-driven self-assembly of MOF-based heterostructures for electrocatalytic methanol oxidation.

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered one of the most promising energy conversion devices due to their environmentally friendly and high-energy density features. However, the sluggish anode kinetics of the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) acts as a bottleneck in the DMFCs system. Herein, a series of MOF-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts (NiWO 4 /MOF-74- x, Ni 3 V 2 O 8 /MOF-74- x) is constructed via a coordination-driven self-assembly strategy to enhance the catalytic property of the MOR. The heterogeneous interface between MOF-74 and Ni compounds is built by the Ni–O coordination interaction, which provides fast charge transfer and mass diffusion efficiency. Therefore, the optimal catalyst NiWO 4 /MOF-74 (3) exhibits excellent MOR activity and operation durability with a peak current density of 28.58 ​mA·cm-2. This work is expected to inspire the design of more efficient MOF-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts for MOR and other energy conversion applications. A series of MOF-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts have been constructed successfully via a coordination-driven self-assembly strategy, which exhibits excellent MOR activity and operational durability in the alkaline medium. [Display omitted] • A series of MOF-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts have been constructed via a coordination-driven self-assembly strategy. • NiWO 4 /MOF-74 (3) composite exhibits good activity and operation durability for MOR. • This work provides a new vision for the design of heterogeneous MOR electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]