On the study of the preparation of graphene-anchored NHC-iridium catalysts from a coke-like waste with application in water splitting

[Display omitted] •Graphene oxide (GO) was successfully prepared from an industrial coke-like waste.•The GO surface from the waste has more oxygen functional groups and more defects.•Ir-NHC hybrid catalysts were prepared by direct or sequential electrografting methods.•Initial electrografting of the imidazolium salt resulted in catalysts with enhanced OER activity.•Reconstruction of GO surface in the sequential method increase OER catalytic activity and stability. Graphene oxide has been prepared from an industrial coke-like waste. The morphology of this material (GO-CW) is similar to that of standard graphene oxide (GO-G), although its surface has more defects. Both materials were used to prepare hybrid NHC-Ir(I)/graphene materials, consisting of molecular Ir(NHC) complexes covalently anchored to the graphene surface through the NHC moiety, following two different synthetic routes: (a) direct graphene electrografting of the previously synthesized aniline-functionalized imidazole-2-ylidene-Ir(I) complex, and (b) a two-step sequence comprising initial electrografting of aniline-imidazolium salts and subsequent chemical reaction with Ir(I) precursor anchoring imidazole-2-ylidene-Ir(I) molecular complexes. The synthesized NHC-Ir/graphene hybrid catalysts are active in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) resulting in current densities in a similar range to those of other NHC-iridium(I) catalysts supported on GO. The highest activity corresponds to hybrid catalysts prepared by the two-step route, with even higher activity and stability when graphene oxide from industrial waste is used. EXAFS spectra of the materials prepared from both synthesis routes before oxidation catalysis reveal the local Ir coordination shell and a structural interaction between Ir and graphene. Both XANES and EXAFS spectra after electrocatalysis point to more oxidized species in which the molecular nature of the iridium catalysts is preserved.