Double Perovskite Cobaltites Integrated in a Monolithic and Noble Metal-Free Photoelectrochemical Device for Efficient Water Splitting

Oxygen exchange kinetics of BaGd0.3La0.7Co2O6-δ with exsolved Co3O4 nanoparticles in dry and humid atmospheres

The oxygen exchange kinetics of BaGd0.3La0.7Co2O6-δ were investigated with pulsed isotope exchange (PIE) measurements in dry and humid atmospheres in the temperature range 400-600 °C in 0.005-0.21 bar O2. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed exsolved Co3O4 nanoparticles dispersed on the surfaces that may contribute to the catalytic activity of the material towards the oxygen exchange reactions. The obtained oxygen exchange rate was 4.45 × 10-3 mol m-2 s-1 at 600 °C in 0.21 bar O2 with an activation energy of 0.76 eV. The rate determining step of the exchange reaction was determined to be dissociative adsorption of oxygen in both dry and humid atmospheres based on the individual rates of dissociative adsorption and incorporation, as well as pO2 dependencies of the oxygen exchange rate of around 1. The effect of water on the oxygen exchange rate was found to be dependent on the oxygen partial pressure, decreasing the rate at 0.21 bar O2 and 600 °C by a factor of approx. 2, while increasing the rate at 0.02 bar and 0.005 bar O2 by a similar amount. In situ thermogravimetric analysis was used to characterise the oxygen non-stoichiometry of the material throughout the oxygen exchange measurements.

Iron and Nickel Substituted Perovskite Cobaltites for Sustainable Oxygen Evolving Anodes in Alkaline Environment

Perovskite oxides have great flexibility in their elemental composition, which is accompanied by large adjustability in their electronic properties. Herein, we synthesized twelve perovskite oxide-based catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The catalysts are based on the parent oxide perovskite Ba0.5Gd0.8La0.7Co2O6-δ (BGLC587) and are synthesized through the sol-gel citrate synthesis route. To reduce the demand on cobalt (Co), but also increase the intrinsic catalytic activity of BGLC587 for the OER, we substitute Co on the B-site with certain amounts of Fe and Ni, synthesizing catalysts of the general formula Ba0.5Gd0.8La0.7Co2-x-yFexNiyO6-δ. A plethora of physicochemical and electrochemical methods suggest that an Fe content between 30 % and 70 % increases the intrinsic catalytic activity of BGLC587, while Tafel slopes in combination with in-situ Raman spectroscopy suggest the rate determining step is likely a proton-exchange reaction, progressing possibly through the lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM). We apply one of the optimized, Co-substituted perovskites in a monolithic, photovoltaic (PV)-driven electrolysis cell and we achieve an initial solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency of 10.5 % under one sun solar simulated illumination.

The route for commercial photoelectrochemical water splitting: a review of large-area devices and key upscaling challenges

Green-hydrogen is considered a "key player" in the energy market for the upcoming decades. Among currently available hydrogen (H2) production processes, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has one of the lowest environmental impacts. However, it still presents prohibitively high production costs compared to more mature technologies, such as steam methane reforming. Therefore, the competitiveness of PEC water splitting must rely on its environmental and functional advantages, which are strongly linked to the reactor design, to the intrinsic properties of its components, and to their successful upscaling. This review gives special attention to the engineering aspects and categorizes PEC devices into four main types, according to the configuration of electrodes and strategies for gas separation: wired back-to-back, wireless back-to-back, wired side-by-side, and wired separated electrode membrane-free. Independently of the device architecture, the use of concentrated sunlight was found to be mandatory for achieving competitive green-H2 production. Additionally, feasible strategies for upscaling the key components of PEC devices, especially photoelectrodes, are urgently needed. In a pragmatic context, the way to move forward is to accept that PEC devices will operate close to their thermodynamic limits at large-scale, which requires a solid convergence between academics and industry. Research efforts must be redirected to: (i) build and demonstrate modular devices with a low-cost and highly recyclable embodiment; (ii) optimize thermal and power management; (iii) reduce ohmic losses; (iv) enhance the chemical stability towards a thousand hours; (v) couple solar concentrators with PEC devices; (vi) boost PEC-H2 production through the use of organic compounds; and (vii) reach consensual standardized methods for evaluating PEC devices, at both environmental and techno-economic levels. If these targets are not met in the next few years, the feasibility of PEC-H2 production and its acceptance by industry and by the general public will be seriously compromised.

Electrochemical Investigations of Double Perovskite M2NiMnO6 (Where M = Eu, Gd, Tb) for High-Performance Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Double perovskites are known for their special structures which can be utilized as catalyst electrode materials for electrochemical water splitting to generate carbon-neutral hydrogen energy. In this work, we prepared lanthanide series metal-doped double perovskites at the M site such as M2NiMnO6 (where M = Eu, Gd, Tb) using the solid-state reaction method, and they were investigated for an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) study in an alkaline medium. It is revealed that the catalyst with a configuration of Tb2NiMnO6 has outstanding OER properties such as a low overpotential of 288 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mAcm-2, a lower Tafel slope of 38.76 mVdec-1, and a long cycling stability over 100 h of continuous operation. A-site doping causes an alteration in the oxidation or valence states of the NiMn cations, their porosity, and the oxygen vacancies. This is evidenced in terms of the Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio modifying electronic properties and the surface which facilitates the OER properties of the catalyst. This is discussed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of the catalysts. The proposed work is promising for the synthesis and utilization of future catalyst electrodes for high-performance electrochemical water splitting.

Crystallography at non-ambient conditions and physical properties of the synthesized double perovskites, Sr2(Co1-xFex)TeO6

Polycrystalline double perovskite-type Sr₂(Co_1-xFe_x)TeO₆ with various stoichiometric compositions (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) were synthesized by solid-state reactions in air. The crystal structures and phase transitions of this series at different temperature intervals were determined by X-ray powder diffraction, and from the obtained data the crystal structures were refined. It has been proven that for the compositions x = 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75, the phases crystallize at room temperature in the monoclinic space group I2/m. Down to 100 K, depending on the composition, these structures experience a phase transition from I2/m to P2₁/n. At high temperatures up to 1100 K their crystal structures show two further phase transitions. The first one is a first-order phase transition, from monoclinic I2/m to tetragonal I4/m, followed by a second-order phase transition to cubic Fm3̄m. Therefore, the phase transition sequence of this series detected at temperatures ranging from 100 K to 1100 K is P2₁/n → I2/m → I4/m → Fm3̄m. The temperature-dependent vibrational features of the octahedral sites were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, which furthermore complements the XRD results. A decrease in the phase-transition temperature with increasing iron content has been observed for these compounds. This fact is explained by the progressive diminishing of the distortion of the double-perovskite structure in this series. Using room-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy, the presence of two iron sites is confirmed. The two different transition metal cations Co and Fe at the B sites allow exploring their effect on the optical band-gap.

Redox Thermochemistry, Thermodynamics, and Solar Energy Conversion and Storage Capability of Some Double Perovskite Cobaltites

The oxygen nonstoichiometry, δ, and oxidation enthalpy, ΔH_ox, of double perovskites RBaCo₂O_6-δ (R = Sm or Eu) were simultaneously measured depending on the temperature and oxygen partial pressure, p_O2. Theoretical equations for ΔH_ox(T, δ) and p_O2(T, δ) were derived from the defect structure model based on the oxygen exchange and cobalt disproportionation reactions. These equations were fitted independently to each of the experimental ΔH_ox(T, δ) and p_O2(T, δ) data sets. The resulting enthalpies of defect reactions were found to be almost the same irrespective of the calculation method. In other words, the models, describing satisfactorily the data, can be used to calculate both compositional dependences and redox thermodynamics of RBaCo₂O_6-δ (R = Sm or Eu). In addition, from the previously published data and the data presented here, trends were determined in the defect reaction thermodynamics of RBaCo₂O_6-δ (R = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, or Y). Drop calorimetric measurements were performed in air to obtain enthalpy increments for RBaCo₂O_6-δ (R = Sm or Eu) with variable oxygen content because the samples lost oxygen upon being heated in the calorimetric cell. As-obtained data were used to calculate the functional dependences of enthalpy increments of EuBaCo₂O_5.56 and SmBaCo₂O_5.6 with a constant oxygen content. In addition, as an example of practical application-oriented calculations for solar energy conversion and oxygen storage, the performances at equilibrium of RBaCo₂O_6-δ (R = Pr, Sm, Eu, or Gd) were evaluated and compared to those of SrFeO_3-δ as a reference material.