Water oxidation by a manganese–potassium cluster: Mn oxide as a kinetically dominant “true” catalyst for water oxidation

Abstract

Nature uses an Mn cluster for water oxidation, and thus, water oxidation using Mn clusters is interesting when used in artificial water-splitting systems. An important question is whether an Mn cluster is a true catalyst for water oxidation or not. Herein, an Mn–K cluster was investigated for electrochemical water oxidation to find the true and the kinetically dominant catalyst using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical methods. The experiments showed that conversion into nanosized Mn oxide occurred for the cluster, and the nanosized Mn oxides are the true catalyst for water oxidation.