Implanting Polypyrrole in Metal-Porphyrin MOFs: Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance for CO2RR

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with plenty of active sites and high porosity have been considered as an excellent platform for the electroreduction of CO2, yet they are still restricted by the low conductivity or low efficiency. Herein, we insert the electron-conductive polypyrrole (PPy) molecule into the channel of MOFs through the in situ polymerization of pyrrole in the pore of MOF-545-Co to increase the electron-transfer ability of MOF-545-Co and the obtained hybrid materials present excellent electrocatalytic CO2RR performance. For example, FECO of PPy@MOF-545-Co can reach up to 98% at -0.8 V, almost 2 times higher than that of bare MOF-545-Co. The high performance might be attributed to the incorporation of PPy that can serve as electric cables in the channel of MOF to facilitate electron transfer during the CO2RR process. This attempt might provide new insights to improve the electrocatalytic performance of MOFs for CO2RR.