Electrosynthesis of Well-Defined Metal–Organic Framework Films and the Carbon Nanotube Network Derived from Them toward Electrocatalytic Applications

An efficient and controllable method to synthesize continuous metal-organic framework (MOF) films is highly desired. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and universal electrochemical method to synthesize homogeneous and uniform zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF, a typical class of MOF family) films on various macroconductive substrates (e.g., conductive glass, Ni foam and carbon cloth) as well as nanostructured substrates (one-dimensional nanorod array, two-dimensional nanowall array, and three-dimensional nanoframework). Particularly, the MOF film can be easily transformed into hierarchical ordered carbon nanotube networks, which display multifunctional electrocatalytic performances, such as excellent activity and good long-term stability in overall water splitting and oxygen reduction. It is worth mentioning that this is the first reported work for electrosynthesis of ZIF films on various conductive substrates, illustrating the great potential of the fast and economical method for constructing functional and integrated films or electrodes toward energy-related applications.