Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation with Nanoparticles Derived from a Cobalt Metal–Organic Framework

Abstract

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation (e -H) provides a sustainable route for converting unsaturated organic substrates under mild conditions using renewable electricity as the driving force. Here, we report an MOF-derived cobalt catalyst for the e -H of acetone and pyridine. A new two-dimensional cobalt metal–organic framework, Co-L0-NS, composed of Co(II) nodes and polyaromatic carboxylate linkers, was synthesized as nanosheets and used as a precursor to generate the active catalyst under cathodic bias. Electrochemical pretreatment induces controlled framework reconstruction to form MD-Cat, a highly dispersed, structurally disordered, Co(OH)2-rich nanocluster material. MD-Cat catalyzes the e -H of acetone to isopropanol with nearly quantitative Faradaic efficiency at optimized potentials and promotes pyridine hydrogenation to piperidine with up to 50% Faradaic efficiency. Comparative studies with electrodeposited cobalt, commercial cobalt nanoparticles, and bulk Co(OH)2 show that the MOF-derived catalyst exhibits superior current densities and product selectivity, which we attribute to its nanoscale morphology and hydroxylated cobalt environment. In situ Co K-edge XAS, XPS, PXRD, ATR-SEIRAS, and STEM analyses indicate that Co remains predominantly in the +2 oxidation state during catalysis while undergoing structural reorganization. Tafel analysis supports a PCET-type mechanism for acetone hydrogenation; while DFT calculations suggest that the Co/Co(OH)2 interface suppresses HER by weakening H* binding while preserving organic-substrate activation. These results highlight MOF-templated electrochemical reconstruction as a promising approach for designing selective e -H catalysts, not only by increasing catalyst accessibility through nanostructuring but also by enabling the formation of unique catalytic motifs that would otherwise be difficult to access using traditional methods.