Short-range order in amorphous nickel oxide nanosheets enables selective and efficient electrochemical hydrogen peroxide production

Ruilong Li; Shaokang Yang; Yida Zhang; Ge Yu; Chao Wang; Cai Chen; Geng Wu; Rongbo Sun; Guanzhong Wang; Xusheng Zheng; Wensheng Yan; Gongming Wang; Dewei Rao; Xun Hong

Cell Reports Physical Science (Mar 2022)

Short-range order in amorphous nickel oxide nanosheets enables selective and efficient electrochemical hydrogen peroxide production

Ruilong Li,
Shaokang Yang,
Yida Zhang,
Ge Yu,
Chao Wang,
Cai Chen,
Geng Wu,
Rongbo Sun,
Guanzhong Wang,
Xusheng Zheng,
Wensheng Yan,
Gongming Wang,
Dewei Rao,
Xun Hong

Affiliations

Ruilong Li: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Shaokang Yang: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
Yida Zhang: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, P.R. China
Ge Yu: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Chao Wang: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, P.R. China
Cai Chen: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Geng Wu: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Rongbo Sun: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Guanzhong Wang: Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Xusheng Zheng: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, P.R. China
Wensheng Yan: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, P.R. China
Gongming Wang: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
Dewei Rao: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China; Corresponding author
Xun Hong: Center of Advanced Nanocatalysis (CAN), Department of Applied Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 3
p. 100788

Abstract

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Summary: Achieving high selectivity and activity with the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is significant for developing efficient energy conversion techniques and chemical production. Here, we report that selective ORRs can be achieved by tuning short-range order in amorphous and crystalline NiO nanosheets (a-NiO NSs and c-NiO NSs, respectively). X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis reveals that the short-range order of a-NiO NSs and c-NiO NSs mainly adopt the NiO5 pyramidal and NiO6 octahedral structures, respectively. The a-NiO NSs for electrochemical H2O2 production in 0.1 M KOH exhibits both high selectivity over 90% and high activity (1 mA cm−2 at 0.66 V versus RHE), while c-NiO NSs tends to catalyze ORRs through 4-electron pathways to generate H2O. Theoretical calculations indicate that the changed short-range order of a-NiO NSs leads to alteration of Ni d-orbital states, which can regulate the adsorption orientation and strength of ∗OOH intermediates to achieve high selectivity and activity of 2-electron ORRs.

Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

ISSN: 2666-3864 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science

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