Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) proceeding in alkaline medium employing zinc based metal-organic framework

Developing high-performance, less expensive, non-precious and nondurable platinum-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode side is an important issue in commercialization fuel cell technology. Here we introduce MOF1, 1, 3, 5-tricarboxylic acid (H₃BTC) and zinc metal-based metal-organic framework which functions as a well-defined, tunable oxygen reduction electrocatalyst in alkaline solution. The catalytic activity of the MOF1 electrocatalyst toward the ORR in an alkaline electrolyte is tested using RRDE technique. MOF1 in alkaline media shows excellent activity and stability for ORR followed by the two-electron reduction pathway to the generation of hydrogen peroxide and the peroxide oxidation current on the ring electrode increases with cycling. The results are in support with Koutecky-Levich plots and the voltammograms.