Issue 37, 2022

The in situ formation of defective CoOOH catalysts from semi-oxidized Co for alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Electrochemical water splitting based on Co oxide electrocatalysts provides a promising means for renewable hydrogen production from water. Identifying the structure evolution and real-time active structure of Co-based electrocatalysts under operational conditions is crucial for understanding the OER mechanism and rational design of efficient catalysts. Here, we systematically synthesized three types of Co-based precatalysts, including Co/graphene oxide (GO), Co–CoO/GO and Co3O4/GO, to clarify the critical effects of the precatalyst structure for OER. The electrochemical test results confirm that the Co–CoO/GO precatalyst shows a lower overpotential compared to Co/GO and Co3O4/GO precatalysts and commercial RuO2/C. A thorough in situ analysis by XAFS revealed that the Co–CoO/GO precatalysts are oxidized and self-assembled into CoOOH during water oxidation and possess a much higher O vacancy density compared with the CoOOH derived from Co/GO, while the Co3O4/GO precatalyst maintains its structure during operation. This strategy of in situ creation of defects in CoOOH provides a guideline for the rational design of future catalysis systems.

Graphical abstract: The in situ formation of defective CoOOH catalysts from semi-oxidized Co for alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Apr 2022
Accepted
08 Jul 2022
First published
21 Jul 2022

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022,10, 20011-20017

The in situ formation of defective CoOOH catalysts from semi-oxidized Co for alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

L. Wang, Y. Pan, D. Wu, X. Liu, L. Cao, W. Zhang, H. Chen, T. Liu, D. Liu, T. Chen, T. Ding, Y. Wang, C. Ding, C. Kang, C. Li, J. He and T. Yao, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 20011 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA02989H

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