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Atomic-level correlation between the electrochemical performance of an oxygen-evolving catalyst and the effects of CeO2 functionalization

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Abstract

Herein, we prepared a bimetallic layered double hydroxide (FeCo LDH) featuring a dandelion-like structure. Anchoring of CeO2 onto FeCo LDH produced interfaces between the functionalizing CeO2 and the parent LDH. Comparative electrochemical studies were carried out. Onset potential, overpotential, and Tafel slope point to the superior oxygen-evolving performance of CeO2-FeCo LDH with respect to FeCo LDH, therefore, demonstrating the merits of CeO2 functionalization. The electronic structures of Fe, Co, and Ce were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) from which the increase of Co3+ and the concurrent lowering of Ce4+ were established. With the use of CeO2-FeCo LDH, accelerated formation at a sizably reduced potential of Co-OOH, one of the key intermediates preceding the release of O2 was observed by in situ Raman spectroscopy. We now have the atomic-level and location-specific evidence, the increase of the active Co3+ across the interface to correlate the enhanced catalytic performance with CeO2 functionalization.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by Shenzhen Nobel Prize Scientists Laboratory Project (No. C17213101), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalysis (No. 2020B121201002), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Electric Power (No. 2018B030322001), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2018M642133, X. Z.), Post-doctorate Scientific Research Fund for staying (coming to) Shenzhen (No. K21217502, X. Z.) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21671096, Z. L.). Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Interfacial Science and Engineering of Materials (ZDSYS20200421111401738, Z.L.). The authors also acknowledge the assistance of Southern University of Science and Technology Core Research Facilities (SUSTech CRF) and Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies (Southern University of Science and Technology).

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  1. Yanyan Li and Wen Luo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yanyan Li

  2. Department of Chemistrγ, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Electric Power, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Yanyan Li, Xinyu Zhang & Zhiping Zheng

  3. Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies (Southern University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Yanyan Li, Xinyu Zhang & Zhiping Zheng

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Interfacial Science and Engineering of Materials, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Wen Luo, Qi Wang & Zhouguang Lu

  5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Electric Power, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Duojie Wu & Meng Gu

  6. Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Research Centre of Biomedical Nanotechnology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jie Yin & Pinxian Xi

  7. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Center for Applied Chemical Research, Frontierinstitute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Yongquan Qu

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  1. Yanyan Li
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Correspondence to Xinyu Zhang, Zhouguang Lu or Zhiping Zheng.

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Atomic-level correlation between the electrochemical performance of an oxygen-evolving catalyst and the effects of CeO2 functionalization

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Li, Y., Luo, W., Wu, D. et al. Atomic-level correlation between the electrochemical performance of an oxygen-evolving catalyst and the effects of CeO2 functionalization. Nano Res. 15, 2994–3000 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3931-9

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