Distance effect of single atoms on stability of cobalt oxide catalysts for acidic oxygen evolution

Zhirong Zhang, Chuanyi Jia, Peiyu Ma, Chen Feng, Jin Yang, Junming Huang, Jiana Zheng, Ming Zuo, Mingkai Liu, Shiming Zhou () and Jie Zeng ()
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Zhirong Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Chuanyi Jia: Institute of Applied Physics, Guizhou Education University
Peiyu Ma: University of Science and Technology of China
Chen Feng: University of Science and Technology of China
Jin Yang: University of Science and Technology of China
Junming Huang: University of Science and Technology of China
Jiana Zheng: University of Science and Technology of China
Ming Zuo: University of Science and Technology of China
Mingkai Liu: Anhui University of Technology
Shiming Zhou: University of Science and Technology of China
Jie Zeng: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Developing efficient and economical electrocatalysts for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE). Cobalt oxides are considered promising non-precious OER catalysts due to their high activities. However, the severe dissolution of Co atoms in acid media leads to the collapse of crystal structure, which impedes their application in PEMWE. Here, we report that introducing acid-resistant Ir single atoms into the lattice of spinel cobalt oxides can significantly suppress the Co dissolution and keep them highly stable during the acidic OER process. Combining theoretical and experimental studies, we reveal that the stabilizing effect induced by Ir heteroatoms exhibits a strong dependence on the distance of adjacent Ir single atoms, where the OER stability of cobalt oxides continuously improves with decreasing the distance. When the distance reduces to about 0.6 nm, the spinel cobalt oxides present no obvious degradation over a 60-h stability test for acidic OER, suggesting potential for practical applications.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46176-0

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