Design of MOF-derived porous N-doped carbon-supported Co-RuSe2 via microwave-triggered in situ foaming for efficient alkaline oxygen evolution

Addressing the inherent activity-stability trade-off and industrial application bottlenecks of ruthenium-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, this study proposes a novel microwave-field-induced strategy coupling in-situ foaming and selenization of a metal–organic framework (ZIF-67). This approach successfully synthesizes a composite catalyst comprising cobalt-doped ruthenium selenide supported on nitrogen-doped porous carbon (Co-RuSe 2 /N-C). Leveraging the synergistic effect of microwave dielectric heating and the pyrolysis-induced foaming of Ru-ZIF-67, the strategy achieves the in-situ construction of a three-dimensional porous carbon skeleton and the precise anchoring of highly dispersed RuSe 2 nanocrystals. Combined experimental characterization and theoretical calculations reveal the strong electronic synergy between cobalt dopant sites and the pyrite phase of RuSe 2 modulates interfacial electron rearrangement, optimizes the adsorption free energy of reaction intermediates, and significantly enhances catalytic reaction kinetics. The resulting catalyst exhibits breakthrough performance: its OER mass activity surpasses that of commercial IrO 2 by 26.2 times and maintains well performance with overpotential increases of merely 22.4 mV after 3000 cycles, which provides a new paradigm for developing efficient, stable, and low-cost practical electrocatalysts.