Defective titanium dioxide single crystals exposed by high-energy {001} facets for efficient oxygen reduction

Dan-Ni Pei, Li Gong, Ai-Yong Zhang (), Xing Zhang, Jie-Jie Chen, Yang Mu and Han-Qing Yu ()
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Dan-Ni Pei: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Li Gong: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Ai-Yong Zhang: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Xing Zhang: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Jie-Jie Chen: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Yang Mu: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China
Han-Qing Yu: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutants Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The cathodic material plays an essential role in oxygen reduction reaction for energy conversion and storage systems. Titanium dioxide, as a semiconductor material, is usually not recognized as an efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalyst owning to its low conductivity and poor reactivity. Here we demonstrate that nano-structured titanium dioxide, self-doped by oxygen vacancies and selectively exposed with the high-energy {001} facets, exhibits a surprisingly competitive oxygen reduction activity, excellent durability and superior tolerance to methanol. Combining the electrochemical tests with density-functional calculations, we elucidate the defect-centred oxygen reduction reaction mechanism for the superiority of the reductive {001}-TiO2−x nanocrystals. Our findings may provide an opportunity to develop a simple, efficient, cost-effective and promising catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in energy conversion and storage technologies.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9696

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