Tuning the surface energy density of non-stoichiometric LaCoO3 perovskite for enhanced water oxidation

Yuan Wang, Xiangjian Shen, Hamidreza Arandiyan, Yanting Yin, Fanfei Sun, Xianjue Chen, Magnus Garbrecht, Li Han, Gunther G. Andersson, Chuan Zhao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tailoring the surface structure of Earth-abundant perovskite oxides can provide cost-effective, high-efficient, and durable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the structural origin leading to high OER performance of perovskite is not fully understood. Here, we present a strategy of tuning the surface energy density of non-stoichiometric perovskite by creating surface defects in the 3D inverse opal LaCoO3-x (3DIO-LaCoO3-x) through a colloidal template strategy. The defective 3DIO-LaCoO3-x, which has an enhanced surface energy density and a shift in the d-band centre of Co relative to the Fermi level, demonstrates significantly improved intrinsic OER activity, with a TOF (0.21 s−1) ten-folder larger than that of conventional LaCoO3 nanoparticles (0.02 s−1). The defective surfaces of 3DIO-LaCoO3-x are theoretically proven to alter the rate determining step of OER and significantly reduce the adsorption energies of the intermediate species, resulting in dramatically enhanced OER activity. Moreover, rich surface defects with high electrical conductivity can mitigate structural corrosion by fast transfer of charge through defective conductive channels, and thus enables long-term stability for the defective 3DIO-LaCoO3-x. These results provide an effective approach for enhancing the intrinsic activity of perovskite for water oxidation towards understanding the surface structure engineering for perovskite-based materials.

Original languageEnglish
Article number228748
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Power Sources
Volume478
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2020

Keywords

  • Defects
  • Electrocatalyst
  • Oxygen evolution reaction
  • Perovskite
  • Surface energy density

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tuning the surface energy density of non-stoichiometric LaCoO3 perovskite for enhanced water oxidation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this