Unveiling\nthe Potential of Metal–Organic Frameworks:\nNucleation-Induced Strain Activating Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit immense\npotential,\nprovided that we gain a comprehensive understanding of their nature\nand manipulate the factors to which they respond. Herein, the MOF\nis engineered and activated by introducing strain into the morphology\nthrough a suitable nucleation process. The defect-rich N-reduced graphene\noxide (rGO) plays a pivotal role, serving as an uneven platform and\ntagging the nucleation site for MOF growth on its surface, resulting\nin a highly active electrocatalyst. The presence of dislocation strain\nand defects in the catalyst creates new active sites or modifies existing\nones on its surface, potentially amplifying its catalytic activity.\nThe catalyst showed excellent activity toward oxygen evolution reaction\nand hydrogen evolution reaction with a low overpotential of 145 and\n51 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>.\nAdditionally, the catalyst toward the overall water-splitting reaction\ndisplayed a cell voltage of 1.37 V at 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup> and maintained a high current density of 150 mA cm<sup>–2</sup> for 200 h without significant degradation. Combining dislocation\nengineering with other catalytic strategies leads to synergistic effects\nthat amplify the activity. Molecular dynamics simulations also show\nthat introducing N-rGO in FeCo-MOF induces the strain and enhances\nits activity.