Preparation and electrocatalytic activity of 3D hierarchical porous spinel CoFe2O4 hollow nanospheres as efficient catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Morphology and composition regulation of Prussian blue analogues to boost electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) have well-dispersed active sites and porous nanostructure. Reasonable design and construction of the nanostructure of PBAs is a promising option to obtain cost-effective electrocatalysts for high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Nevertheless, current structural engineering is costly and complex due to the inevitable involvement of additional etching agents or procedures. In this paper, a simple temperature-control strategy without additional etchant, is presented for the preparation of hollow CoFe-PBA precursors with porous nanobox structure, and then the hollow CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH nanoboxes (named as CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs) heterogeneous catalyst is obtained. The preferable composition and structure provide more accessible active sites and better electronic structure for OER. As a result, the optimized CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs demonstrates an impressive ability to accelerate OER in alkaline electrolyte with a minimal overpotential (219 mV at 10 mA cm-2) and excellent stability. More importantly, by combining CoFe-PBA@NiFeRu-LDH NBs with Pt/C for overall water electrolysis, an ultra-low voltage (1.52 V at 10 mA cm-2) is required. This study offers a facile and effective idea for chemical and morphological control in the manufacture of efficient electrocatalysts.

Computational Engineering of Non-van der Waals 2D Magnetene for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution and Reduction Reactions

Non-van der Waals two-dimensional materials containing exposed transition metal atoms are promising catalysts for green energy storage and conversion. For instance, hematene and ilmenene have been successfully applied as catalysts. Building on these reports, this work is the first investigation of recently synthesized magnetene towards the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR). Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, we unveil the mechanism, performance and ideal conditions for OER and ORR on magnetene. With overpotentials of ηOER=0.50 V and ηORR=0.41 V, the material is not only a bifunctional catalyst, but also superior to state-of-the-art systems such as Pt and IrO2. Additionally, its catalytic properties can be further enhanced through engineering strategies such as point defects and in-plane compression. It reaches ηORR=0.28 V at a compressive strain of only 2 %, while the presence of Ni boosts it to ηOER=0.39 V and ηORR=0.31 V, comparable to many reported single-atom catalysts. Overall, this work demonstrates that magnetene is a promising bifunctional catalyst for applications such as regenerative fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

Controlled chemical transformation of lignin by nitric acid treatment and carbonization

This study focuses on understanding the chemical reactions and results of Kraft lignin transformation through nitric acid treatment and subsequent carbonization. With its rich carbon content, lignin stands out as a promising candidate for the manufacturing of high-value carbon materials. The lignin underwent effective nitration, depolymerization, and oxidation under ambient conditions and at 40 °C, while a slight increase in reaction temperature significantly reduced the reaction time. The molecular weight Mw was effectively reduced from 4371 g/mol to 767 g/mol. The acid-treated lignin samples with incorporated nitro groups were further carbonized to create nitrogen-doped carbon structures. The resulting materials show stable nitrogen content (about at 5 wt%) even after carbonization due to the transformation of nitro groups into thermally stable pyridinic moieties, thereby exhibiting enhanced electrocatalytic properties compared to nitrogen-free carbon materials derived from Kraft lignin. The nitric acid-assisted treatment of lignin obviates the need for catalysts, and additional extraction or purification steps for preparing bio-derived carbon precursors, rendering it facile, fast, and cost-efficient.

Reinforcement of Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Activity Enabled by Constructing Silver-Incorporated NiCo-PBA@NiFe-LDH Hierarchical Nanoboxes

Complicated oxygen evolution reaction (OER) poses the bottleneck in improving the efficiency of hydrogen production through water electrolysis. Herein, an integrated strategy to modulate the electronic structure of NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) is reported by constructing Ag-incorporated NiCo-PBA@NiFe-LDH heterojunction with a hierarchical hollow structure. This "double heterojunction" facilitates local charge polarization at the interface, thereby promoting electron transfer and reducing the adsorption energy of intermediates, ultimately enhancing the intrinsic activity of the catalyst. It is noteworthy that an exchange bias field is observed between NiCo-PBA and NiFe-LDH, which will be conducive to regulating the electron spin states of metals and facilitating the production of triplet oxygen. Additionally, the unique hierarchical nanoboxes provide a large specific surface area that ensures adequate exposure to adsorption sites and active sites. Profiting from the synergistic advantages, the overpotential is as low as 190 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, with a low Tafel slope of 21 mV dec-1. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculation further substantiated that the incorporation of Ag in the heterojunction can effectively reduce the adsorption energy of reactant intermediates and enhance the conductivity.

Transition metal oxides with perovskite and spinel structures for electrochemical energy production applications

Transition metal oxide-based materials are an interesting alternative to substitute noble-metal based catalyst in energy conversion devices designed for oxygen reduction (ORR), oxygen evolution (OER) and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Perovskite (ABO₃) and spinel (AB₂O₄) oxides stand out against other structures due to the possibility of tailoring their chemical composition and, consequently, their properties. Particularly, the electrocatalytic performance of these materials depends on features such as chemical composition, crystal structure, nanostructure, cation substitution level, e_g orbital filling or oxygen vacancies. However, they suffer from low electrical conductivity and surface area, which affects the catalytic response. To mitigate these drawbacks, they have been combined with carbon materials (e.g. carbon black, carbon nanotubes, activated carbon, and graphene) that positively influence the overall catalytic activity. This review provides an overview on tunable perovskites (mainly lanthanum-based) and spinels featuring 3d metal cations such as Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu on octahedral sites, which are known to be active for the electrochemical energy conversion.

Porous spinel-type transition metal oxide nanostructures as emergent electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions

Porous spinel-type transition metal oxide (PS-TMO) nanocatalysts comprising two kinds of metal (denoted as A_xB_3-xO₄, where A, B = Co, Ni, Zn, Mn, Fe, V, Sm, Li, and Zn) have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) in energy conversion and storage systems (ECSS). This is due to the unique catalytic merits of PS-TMOs (such as p-type conductivity, optical transparency, semiconductivity, multiple valence states of their oxides, and rich active sites) and porous morphologies with great surface area, low density, abundant transportation paths for intermediate species, maximized atom utilization and quick charge mobility. In addition, PS-TMOs nanocatalysts are easily prepared in high yield from Earth-abundant and inexpensive metal precursors that meet sustainability requirements and practical applications. Owing to the continued developments in the rational synthesis of PS-TMOs nanocatalysts for ORRs, it is utterly imperative to provide timely updates and highlight new advances in this research area. This review emphasizes recent research advances in engineering the morphologies and compositions of PS-TMOs nanocatalysts in addition to their mechanisms, to decipher their structure-activity relationships. Also, the ORR mechanisms and fundamentals are discussed, along with the current barriers and future outlook for developing the next generation of PS-TMOs nanocatalysts for large-scale ECSS.

Role of Nanoscale Inhomogeneities in Co2FeO4 Catalysts during the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Spinel-type catalysts are promising anode materials for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER), exhibiting low overpotentials and providing long-term stability. In this study, we compared two structurally equal Co₂FeO₄ spinels with nominally identical stoichiometry and substantially different OER activities. In particular, one of the samples, characterized by a metastable precatalyst state, was found to quickly achieve its steady-state optimum operation, while the other, which was initially closer to the ideal crystallographic spinel structure, never reached such a state and required 168 mV higher potential to achieve 1 mA/cm². In addition, the enhanced OER activity was accompanied by a larger resistance to corrosion. More specifically, using various ex situ, quasi in situ, and operando methods, we could identify a correlation between the catalytic activity and compositional inhomogeneities resulting in an X-ray amorphous Co²⁺-rich minority phase linking the crystalline spinel domains in the as-prepared state. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that these Co²⁺-rich domains transform during OER to structurally different Co³⁺-rich domains. These domains appear to be crucial for enhancing OER kinetics while exhibiting distinctly different redox properties. Our work emphasizes the necessity of the operando methodology to gain fundamental insight into the activity-determining properties of OER catalysts and presents a promising catalyst concept in which a stable, crystalline structure hosts the disordered and active catalyst phase.

Probing the Mechanical Properties of Porous Nanoshells by Nanoindentation

In this contribution, we present a study of the mechanical properties of porous nanoshells measured with a nanoindentation technique. Porous nanoshells with hollow designs can present attractive mechanical properties, as observed in hollow nanoshells, but coupled with the unique mechanical behavior of porous materials. Porous nanoshells display mechanical properties that are dependent on shell porosity. Our results show that, under smaller porosity values, deformation is closely related to the one observed for polycrystalline and single-crystalline nanoshells involving dislocation activity. When porosity in the nanoparticle is increased, plastic deformation was mediated by grain boundary sliding instead of dislocation activity. Additionally, porosity suppresses dislocation activity and decreases nanoparticle strength, but allows for significant strain hardening under strains as high as 0.4. On the other hand, Young’s modulus decreases with the increase in nanoshell porosity, in agreement with the established theories of porous materials. However, we found no quantitative agreement between conventional models applied to obtain the Young’s modulus of porous materials.

Interconnected MoS2/FeCo2S4 nanosheet array bifunctional electrocatalysts grown on carbon cloth for efficient overall water splitting

Seeking and designing low-cost and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts to replace the traditional Pt and IrO2 catalysts are significant for the development of overall water splitting. Herein, the precursor of Mo...

Atomic-Level Manipulations in Oxides and Alloys for Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Evolution and Reduction

As chemical reactions and charge-transfer simultaneously occur on the catalyst surface during electrocatalysis, numerous studies have been carried out to attain an in-depth understanding on the correlation among the surface structure and composition, the electrical transport, and the overall catalytic activity. Compared with other catalysis reactions, a relatively larger activation barrier for oxygen evolution/reduction reactions (OER/ORR), where multiple electron transfers are involved, is noted. Many works over the past decade thus have been focused on the atomic-scale control of the surface structure and the precise identification of surface composition change in catalyst materials to achieve better conversion efficiency. In particular, recent advances in various analytical tools have enabled noteworthy findings of unexpected catalytic features at atomic resolution, providing significant insights toward reducing the activation barriers and subsequently improving the catalytic performance. In addition to summarizing important surface issues, including lattice defects, related to the OER and ORR in this Review, we present the current status and discuss future perspectives of oxide- and alloy-based catalysts in terms of atomic-scale observation and manipulation.

Lilac flower-shaped ZnCo2O4electrocatalyst for efficient methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions in an alkaline medium

A ZnCo₂O₄electrocatalyst for the efficient MOR and ORR.

Hollow-Structured Metal Oxides as Oxygen-Related Catalysts

Metal oxide hollow structures with large surface area, low density, and high loading capacity have received great attention for energy-related applications. Acting as oxygen-related catalysts, hollow-structured transition metal oxides offer low overpotential, fast reaction rate, and excellent stability. Herein, recent progress in the oxygen-related catalysis (e.g., oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and metal-air batteries) of hollow-structured transition metal oxides is discussed. Through a comprehensive outline of hollow-structured spinels, perovskites, rutiles, etc., a rational design strategy is provided for an enhanced oxygen-related catalysis performance from the viewpoint of crystal structures. Urgent challenges and further research directions are presented for hollow-structured transition metal oxides toward excellent oxygen-related catalysis.

Zirconium-Regulation-Induced Bifunctionality in 3D Cobalt-Iron Oxide Nanosheets for Overall Water Splitting

The design of high-efficiency non-noble bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is paramount for water splitting technologies and associated renewable energy systems. Spinel-structured oxides with rich redox properties can serve as alternative low-cost OER electrocatalysts but with poor HER performance. Here, zirconium regulation in 3D CoFe₂ O₄ (CoFeZr oxides) nanosheets on nickel foam, as a novel strategy inducing bifunctionality toward OER and HER for overall water splitting, is reported. It is found that the incorporation of Zr into CoFe₂ O₄ can tune the nanosheet morphology and electronic structure around the Co and Fe sites for optimizing adsorption energies, thus effectively enhancing the intrinsic activity of active sites. The as-synthesized 3D CoFeZr oxide nanosheet exhibits high OER activity with small overpotential, low Tafel slope, and good stability. Moreover, it shows unprecedented HER activity with a small overpotential of 104 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 in alkaline media, which is better than ever reported counterparts. When employing the CoFeZr oxides nanosheets as both anode and cathode catalysts for overall water splitting, a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 is achieved at the cell voltage of 1.63 V in 1.0 m KOH.

Spinel oxide CoFe2O4 grown on Ni foam as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

The effect of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is important in water splitting. In this work, we develop sphere-like morphology spinel oxide CoFe2O4/NF by hydrothermal reaction and calcination, and the diameter of the spheres is about 111.1 nm. The CoFe2O4/NF catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance with an overpotential of 273 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 78 mV dec-1. The cycling stability of CoFe2O4/NF is remarkable, and it only increased by 5 mV at a current density of 100 mA cm-2 after 3000 cycles. Therefore, this simple method to prepare CoFe2O4/NF can enhance the OER properties of electrocatalysts, which makes CoFe2O4/NF a promising material to replace noble metal-based catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction.

Facile synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous Fe3O4 with ultrasensitive detection of dopamine

Dopamine (DA) detection is significant for the prevention of unfavorable neuronal illness. However, the detection of DA with low concentration still face tremendous challenges. In this study, highly ordered mesoporous Fe₃O₄ materials were synthesized as a biosensor by using mesoporous silica KIT-6 with different aging temperature as hard template. The ordered mesoporous Fe₃O₄ with high surface area modified glassy carbon electrode shows the high sensitivity for detecting DA. Fe₃O₄-40 mesoporous material modified electrode has the highest catalytic activity to DA with a sensitivity of 0.053 nA nM^-1 and a detection limit of 0.8 nM (S/N = 3). The results indicating that the mesoporous Fe₃O₄ material modified electrode exhibits high sensitivity to determine DA at low levels, which can be used for DA real-time monitoring in neutral biological media.

A core@shell hollow heterostructure of Co3O4 and Co3S4: an efficient oxygen evolution catalyst

A hollow core@shell nanostructure of Co₃O₄ and Co₃S₄ helps to enhance the electrocatalytic activity for the OER.

Cobalt-Iron Oxide Nanoarrays Supported on Carbon Fiber Paper with High Stability for Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution at Large Current Densities

Here, we demonstrate that nonprecious CoFe-based oxide nanoarrays exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and superior stability for electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at large current densities (>500 mA cm^-2). Carbon fiber paper (CFP) with three-dimensional macroporous structure, excellent corrosion resistance, and high electrical properties is used as the support material to prevent surface passivation during the long-term process of OER. Through a facile method of hydrothermal synthesis and thermal treatment, vertically aligned arrays of spinel Co _xFe_{3- x}O₄ nanostructures are homogeneously grown on CFP. The morphology and the Fe-doping content of the CoFe oxide nanoarrays can be controlled by the Fe³⁺ concentration in the precursor solution. The arrays of CoFe oxide nanosheets (NSs) grown on CFP (Co_2.3Fe_0.7O₄-NSs/CFP) deliver lower Tafel slope (34.3 mV dec^-1) than CoFe oxide nanowire (NW) arrays grown on CFP (Co_2.7Fe_0.3O₄-NWs/CFP) in alkaline solution, owing to higher Fe-doping content and larger effective specific surface area. The Co_2.3Fe_0.7O₄-NSs/CFP electrode exhibits excellent stability for OER at large current densities in alkaline solution. Moreover, the morphology and structure of CoFeO nanoarrays are well preserved after long-term testing, indicating the high stability for OER.

Tunable Bifunctional Activity of Mnx Co3-x O4 Nanocrystals Decorated on Carbon Nanotubes for Oxygen Electrocatalysis

Noble-metal-free electrocatalysts are attractive for cathodic oxygen catalysis in alkaline membrane fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and electrolyzers. However, much of the structure-activity relationship is poorly understood. Herein, the comprehensive development of manganese cobalt oxide/nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids (Mnx Co3-x O4 @NCNTs) is reported for highly reversible oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER, respectively). The hybrid structures are rationally designed by fine control of surface chemistry and synthesis conditions, including tuning of functional groups at surfaces, congruent growth of nanocrystals with controllable phases and particle sizes, and ensuring strong coupling across catalyst-support interfaces. Electrochemical tests reveal distinctly different oxygen catalytic activities among the hybrids, Mnx Co3-x O4 @NCNTs. Nanocrystalline MnCo2 O4 @NCNTs (MCO@NCNTs) hybrids show superior ORR activity, with a favorable potential to reach 3 mA cm-2 and a high current density response, equivalent to that of the commercial Pt/C standard. Moreover, the hybrid structure exhibits tunable and durable catalytic activities for both ORR and OER, with a lowest overall potential of 0.93 V. It is clear that the long-term electrochemical activities can be ensured by rational design of hybrid structures from the nanoscale.

Multicomposite Nanostructured Hematite-Titania Photoanodes with Improved Oxygen Evolution: The Role of the Oxygen Evolution Catalyst

We present a sol-gel processed hematite-titania-based photoanode, which exhibits a photocurrent of up to 2.5 mA/cm² at 1.23 V_RHE under simulated AM 1.5 G illumination (100 mW/cm²) thanks to the addition of an amorphous cocatalyst with the nominal composition Fe₂₀Cr₄₀Ni₄₀O _x . To unveil the role of the cocatalyst interconnected to the photoanode, we performed impedance measurements. According to the one order of magnitude higher value for the capacitance associated with surface states (C _SS) compared to the bare photoanode, the function of the catalyst-photoanode interface resembles that of a p-n-like junction. In addition, the charge transfer resistance associated with charge transfer processes from surface states (R _ct,ss) was unchanged at potentials between 0.8 and 1.1 V_RHE after adding the cocatalyst, indicating that the catalyst has a negligible effect on the hole transport to the electrolyte. The understanding of the role of oxygen evolution catalysts (OECs) in conjunction with the photoanodes is particularly important for water splitting because most OECs are studied separately at considerably higher potentials compared to the potentials at which photoanode materials are operated.

A Z-scheme magnetic recyclable Ag/AgBr@CoFe2O4photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic performance for pollutant and bacterial elimination

A Z-scheme magnetic recyclable Ag/AgBr@CoFe₂O₄magnetic photocatalysts were preparedviaa simple solvothermal method.

Electrochemical performances of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and a rGO based asymmetric supercapacitor

CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were prepared using a polyethylene glycol (PEG) assisted solution combustion method.

Nanocrystal-constructed mesoporous CoFe2O4 nanowire arrays aligned on flexible carbon fabric as integrated anodes with enhanced lithium storage properties

Hierarchical mesoporous CoFe₂O₄ nanowire arrays on flexible carbon fabric as integrated anodes for highly efficient and reversible lithium storage.