How Cobalt and Iron Doping Determine the Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalytic Activity of NiOOH

Yuhai Dou; Chun-Ting He; Lei Zhang; Mohammad Al-Mamun; Haipeng Guo; Wenchao Zhang; Qingbing Xia; Jiantie Xu; Lixue Jiang; Yun Wang; Porun Liu; Xiao-Ming Chen; Huajie Yin; Huijun Zhao

Cell Reports Physical Science (Jun 2020)

How Cobalt and Iron Doping Determine the Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalytic Activity of NiOOH

Yuhai Dou,
Chun-Ting He,
Lei Zhang,
Mohammad Al-Mamun,
Haipeng Guo,
Wenchao Zhang,
Qingbing Xia,
Jiantie Xu,
Lixue Jiang,
Yun Wang,
Porun Liu,
Xiao-Ming Chen,
Huajie Yin,
Huijun Zhao

Affiliations

Yuhai Dou: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Chun-Ting He: MOE Key Laboratory of Functional Small Organic Molecule, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022, China
Lei Zhang: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Mohammad Al-Mamun: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Haipeng Guo: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong Australia, Wollongong 2500, NSW, Australia
Wenchao Zhang: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong Australia, Wollongong 2500, NSW, Australia
Qingbing Xia: Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong Australia, Wollongong 2500, NSW, Australia
Jiantie Xu: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Lixue Jiang: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Yun Wang: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Porun Liu: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia
Xiao-Ming Chen: MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China
Huajie Yin: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia; Corresponding author
Huijun Zhao: Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, QLD, Australia; Centre for Environmental and Energy Nanomaterials, CAS Centre for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 6
p. 100077

Abstract

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Summary: The 3d transition metals have been investigated as active centers in NiOOH to catalyze oxygen evolution reaction (OER); however, questions about the mechanism remain. Here, we study how cobalt (Co) and iron (Fe) doping and CoFe codoping determine the OER activity of NiOOH via experiments and theoretical calculations. The results show that both Co and Fe, with enhanced density of states near the Fermi level, decrease the overpotential by increasing the binding energy of O∗ and consequently exhibit higher activities than nickel. In particular, Fe, with nearly optimal O∗ binding energy, exhibits the lowest overpotential of 181 mV to reach 50 mA cm−2. In the case of CoFe codoping, Co alters the electronic states of Fe, which weakens the Fe-OOH bond and slightly increases the overpotential. Based on the calculated activities, an overpotential contour plot is constructed, providing guidance for catalyst design via modulating electronic structures and intermediate binding energies.

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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