CoB Doped Ni-MOF/NF Composite Catalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

The advancement of efficient and stable non-precious metal electrocatalysts is crucial for promoting the development of alkaline water electrolysis, a key clean energy technology for hydrogen production. This study presents a rational design of a self-supported CoB@Ni-MOF/NF catalyst for scalable hydrogen production, constructed by building a hierarchical Ni-MOF/NF conductive scaffold, incorporating amorphous CoB active phases, and establishing a synergistic Ni-Co-B interface. The optimized electrode exhibits exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction performance in alkaline media, achieving an ultralow overpotential of 33.2 mV at 10 mA cm −2 -performance that rivals some noble-metal-doped systems—along with stable operation exceeding 28 h. Comprehensive characterization confirms that the superior activity originates from abundant accessible active sites and optimized reaction energetics enabled by the composite architecture, offering a generalizable design strategy that integrates MOFs, conductive substrates, and transition metal borides for advanced energy conversion materials.