From Hydrogen Bond to van der Waals Force: Molecular Scalpel Strategy to Exfoliate a Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Nanosheet.

The facile exfoliation of a two-dimensional metal-organic nanosheet of {[Co(HL)(H2O)(Py)3/4]·1/2H2O·DMF}n [1-Py; H3L = 5-(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)isophthalic acid and Py = pyridine] was achieved, via a molecular scalpel strategy, by weakening intermolecular forces between adjacent layers. The resulting 1-Py/KB40 (KB = Ketjen black) shows an increased oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance with an overpotential of 370 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 58 mV dec-1. This work sheds light on the structure-morphology-reactivity relationship of such materials in OER.