Ferrocene and Nitrogen-Rich Triazine Linked Porous Organic Polymers for Efficient and Durable Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysis

As the rate-determining step in water splitting and related energy systems, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) demonstrates a main challenge due to its sluggish intrinsic kinetics. Herein, we report, for the first time, the application of ferrocene-integrated porous organic polymers (POPs) supported on nickel foam (NF) as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the OER, exhibiting catalytic activity and efficiency. The Fer-TPT-Ph POP electrocatalyst demonstrates outstanding OER performance under alkaline conditions, requiring a low overpotential of 276 mV to achieve 10 mA cm⁻² and 380 mV at 50 mA cm⁻², with a Tafel slope of 78 mV dec⁻¹, indicating faster OER kinetics than Fer-TPT POP. Furthermore, the Fer-TPT-Ph POP maintained a nearly constant potential during 48 h of chronoamperometry operation at 10 mA cm⁻², thereby confirming its durability under extended OER operation. Electrochemical results show that the improved OER performance of Fer-TPT-Ph POP was accompanied by a lower charge-transfer resistance of 81 Ω, compared with 177 Ω for Fer-TPT POP. The outlined work shows a pioneering effort in the development and exploration of Fer-based POPs in electrocatalysis, marking a significant advance in the field of energy-related catalysis.