Mahmoud M. Abdelnaby

In this study, we employed a rapid and efficient microwave method to synthesize Metal‐Organic Framework (MOF‐303), which was subsequently embedded onto Palladium/Carbon (Pd/C) electrodes. The resulting hybrid material, Pd/C@MOF‐303, was thoroughly characterized, and its performance in the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) was systematically investigated. The Pd/C@MOF‐303 composite exhibited remarkable improvements in HER performance compared to the unmodified Pd/C electrode. At a benchmark current density of 10 mA cm −2 , the overpotentials for Pd/C and Pd/C@MOF‐303 were measured at 185 mV and 175 mV, respectively. This reduction in overpotential highlights the superior catalytic activity of the Pd/C@MOF‐303 hybrid material in facilitating the HER. Furthermore, the Pd/C@MOF‐303 electrode demonstrated enhanced HER activity, increased mass activity, and excellent charge transfer rates compared to its unmodified counterpart, Pd/C. The findings underscore the significance of the hydrophilic MOF‐303 in tailoring the surface characteristics of electrocatalysts, thereby offering insights into the design principles for advanced materials with superior performance in electrochemical applications.

The design of novel porous solid sorbents for carbon dioxide capture is critical in developing carbon capture and storage technology (CCS). We have synthesized a series of nitrogen-rich porous organic polymers (POPs) from crosslinking melamine and pyrrole monomers. The final polymer’s nitrogen content was tuned by varying the melamine ratio compared to pyrrole. The resulting polymers were then pyrolyzed at 700 °C and 900 °C to produce high surface area nitrogen-doped porous carbons (NPCs) with different N/C ratios. The resulting NPCs showed good BET surface areas reaching 900 m2 g−1. Owing to the nitrogen-enriched skeleton and the micropore nature of the prepared NPCs, they exhibited CO2 uptake capacities as high as 60 cm3 g−1 at 273 K and 1 bar with significant CO2/N2 selectivity. The materials showed excellent and stable performance over five adsorption/desorption cycles in the dynamic separation of the ternary mixture of N2/CO2/H2O. The method developed in this work and the synthesized NPCs’ performance towards CO2 capture highlight the unique properties of POPs as precursors for synthesizing nitrogen-doped porous carbons with a high nitrogen content and high yield.