A Nickel-Doped Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Polymer (2D-COP) for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

A special class of porous polymers called two-dimensional covalent organic polymers (2D COPs) are formed by the linkage of covalently organic building components through noncovalent interactions. In this work, we have prepared nickel-doped 2D COP (Ni@COP) from a synthesized COP and used it for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Ni@COP has exhibited better HER activity in comparison to Ni(NO3)2·6H2O and COP. In a solution of 0.5 M H2SO4, the HER activities are measured. An overpotential of 290 mV and a Tafel slope of 112 mV dec–1 were obtained for Ni@COP. The 112 mV dec–1 value suggests that Ni@COP followed the Volmer–Heyrovsky pathway for the acid-catalyzed HER. The stability and catalytic effectiveness of the materials are solely dependent on COP. It is interesting to note that Ni@COP functions as a model electrocatalyst when employed as a solid cathodic electrode over the surface of carbon paper electrodes. Ni@COP for the HER exhibits exceptional activity and stability, highlighting its enormous potential for diverse energy transformation applications.