Journal article
Dynamic surface self-reconstruction is the key of highly active perovskite nano-electrocatalysts for water splitting.
- Fabbri E Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Nachtegaal M Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Binninger T Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Cheng X Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Kim BJ Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Durst J Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- Bozza F Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
- Graule T Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
- Schäublin R Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
- Wiles L Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA.
- Pertoso M Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA.
- Danilovic N Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA.
- Ayers KE Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA.
- Schmidt TJ Energy &Environment Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
- 2017-07-18
Published in:
- Nature materials. - 2017
English
The growing need to store increasing amounts of renewable energy has recently triggered substantial R&D efforts towards efficient and stable water electrolysis technologies. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurring at the electrolyser anode is central to the development of a clean, reliable and emission-free hydrogen economy. The development of robust and highly active anode materials for OER is therefore a great challenge and has been the main focus of research. Among potential candidates, perovskites have emerged as promising OER electrocatalysts. In this study, by combining a scalable cutting-edge synthesis method with time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements, we were able to capture the dynamic local electronic and geometric structure during realistic operando conditions for highly active OER perovskite nanocatalysts. Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ as nano-powder displays unique features that allow a dynamic self-reconstruction of the material's surface during OER, that is, the growth of a self-assembled metal oxy(hydroxide) active layer. Therefore, besides showing outstanding performance at both the laboratory and industrial scale, we provide a fundamental understanding of the operando OER mechanism for highly active perovskite catalysts. This understanding significantly differs from design principles based on ex situ characterization techniques.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- closed
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1038/nmat4938
- PMID 28714982
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/277160
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