Metal–Organic Framework Templated Pd@PdO–Co3O4 Nanocubes as an Efficient Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst

The development of high‐efficiency bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is critical for rechargeable metal–air batteries, a typical electrochemical energy storage and conversion technology. This work reports a general approach for the synthesis of Pd@PdO–Co₃O₄ nanocubes using the zeolite‐type metal–organic framework (MOF) as a template. The as‐synthesized materials exhibit a high electrocatalytic activity toward OER and ORR, which is comparable to those of commercial RuO₂ and Pt/C electrocatalysts, while its cycle performance and stability are much higher than those of commercial RuO₂ and Pt/C electrocatalysts. Various physicochemical characterizations and density functional theory calculations indicate that the favorable electrochemical performance of the Pd@PdO–Co₃O₄ nanocubes is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between PdO and the robust hollow structure composed of interconnected crystalline Co₃O₄ nanocubes. This work establishes an efficient approach for the controlled design and synthesis of MOF‐templated hybrid nanomaterials, and provides a great potential for developing high‐performance electrocatalysts in energy storage and conversion.