Unusual Role of Point Defects in Perovskite Nickelate Electrocatalysts

Synergy of controlled cobalt incorporation and oxygen vacancies in Mn-based spinel electrocatalysts for durable and efficient lattice oxygen evolution

In the context of OER mechanisms, the lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism has garnered research interest due to its potential to break the scaling limitation of the adsorbate evolution mechanism. Although various strategies for enhancing the activity of spinel-based catalysts have been reported, the factors influencing catalyst stability via the LOM pathway have not been investigated extensively. The AB2O4 crystal structure of spinel oxides offers structural and compositional flexibility, enabling comprehensive mechanism exploration. To this end, an efficient and straightforward synthesis method is necessary to precisely control geometric configuration and cation incorporation in spinel. Herein, a one-step CV deposition method is proposed to fabricate freestanding Mn-based spinel catalysts with abundant surface oxygen defects and a nanosheet-like morphology under mild conditions. This method allows precise regulation of Co incorporation and adjustment of geometric configuration by modifying the electrolyte composition and concentration. Given that cobalt ions possess more outer electrons and lower field stabilization compared to Mn3+ in an octahedral field, appropriate Co doping accelerates the refilling process of oxygen vacancies and stabilizes Mn-based spinel framework. Systematic experiments and density functional theory studies suggest that appropriate Co doping significantly enhances both activity and stability of spinel oxides, with precise control of incorporation content being crucial. Consequently, the fabricated Co-incorporated ZnMn2O4 with a Co/Mn ratio of ∼0.2 exhibits superior activity and stability toward the OER. The assembled ZAB demonstrates excellent cycling endurance. This synthesis strategy can be extended to other spinel structures, potentially providing insights for further mechanism exploration of spinel in broader fields.

Selective A-Site Exsolution and Phase Transition in Perovskite Electrode for Efficient Flexible Znic-Air Batteries

Zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are highly promising for flexible electronics due to their high energy density and cost-effective. However, their practical application is impeded by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions (OER/ORR). This study presents a novel design featuring BaO nanoparticles anchored on layered perovskite PrBaMn1.5Co0.5O6-δ (PBMC) nanofibers, fabricated through a plasma method. Notably, the plasma treatment induces the selective exsolution of A-site Ba onto the perovskite surface, while simultaneously driving the transformation of PBMC from a simple perovskite to a layered perovskite, resulting in a unique BaO/PBMC heterostructure. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the construction of the BaO/PBMC heterojunction regulates interfacial electronic redistribution, thereby lowering energy barriers for both OER and ORR. Consequently, the BaO/PBMC air electrode exhibits superior peak power density and enhanced stability in flexible solid-state ZABs, compared to the pristine PBMC cathode. Selective A-site exsolution coupled with phase transition, featuring a unique alkaline-earth metal oxide/perovskite heterostructure, may offer new insights for energy conversion technologies.

Hydrogen-induced tunable remanent polarization in a perovskite nickelate

Materials with field-tunable polarization are of broad interest to condensed matter sciences and solid-state device technologies. Here, using hydrogen (H) donor doping, we modify the room temperature metallic phase of a perovskite nickelate NdNiO3 into an insulating phase with both metastable dipolar polarization and space-charge polarization. We then demonstrate transient negative differential capacitance in thin film capacitors. The space-charge polarization caused by long-range movement and trapping of protons dominates when the electric field exceeds the threshold value. First-principles calculations suggest the polarization originates from the polar structure created by H doping. We find that polarization decays within ~1 second which is an interesting temporal regime for neuromorphic computing hardware design, and we implement the transient characteristics in a neural network to demonstrate unsupervised learning. These discoveries open new avenues for designing ferroelectric materials and electrets using light-ion doping.

Complex Oxides for Brain-Inspired Computing: A Review

The fields of brain-inspired computing, robotics, and, more broadly, artificial intelligence (AI) seek to implement knowledge gleaned from the natural world into human-designed electronics and machines. In this review, the opportunities presented by complex oxides, a class of electronic ceramic materials whose properties can be elegantly tuned by doping, electron interactions, and a variety of external stimuli near room temperature, are discussed. The review begins with a discussion of natural intelligence at the elementary level in the nervous system, followed by collective intelligence and learning at the animal colony level mediated by social interactions. An important aspect highlighted is the vast spatial and temporal scales involved in learning and memory. The focus then turns to collective phenomena, such as metal-to-insulator transitions (MITs), ferroelectricity, and related examples, to highlight recent demonstrations of artificial neurons, synapses, and circuits and their learning. First-principles theoretical treatments of the electronic structure, and in situ synchrotron spectroscopy of operating devices are then discussed. The implementation of the experimental characteristics into neural networks and algorithm design is then revewed. Finally, outstanding materials challenges that require a microscopic understanding of the physical mechanisms, which will be essential for advancing the frontiers of neuromorphic computing, are highlighted.

Protonation-Induced Colossal Chemical Expansion and Property Tuning in NdNiO3 Revealed by Proton Concentration Gradient Thin Films

Protonation can be used to tune diverse physical and chemical properties of functional oxides. Although protonation of nickelate perovskites has been reported, details on the crystal structure of the protonated phase and a quantitative understanding of the effect of protons on physical properties are still lacking. Therefore, in this work, we select NdNiO₃ (NNO) as a model system to understand the protonation process from pristine NNO to protonated H_xNdNiO₃ (H-NNO). We used a reliable electrochemical method with well-defined reference electrode to trigger the protonation-induced phase transition. We found that the protonated H-NNO phase showed a colossal ∼13% lattice expansion caused by a large tilt of NiO₆ octahedra and displacement of Nd cations. Importantly, we further designed a novel device configuration to induce a gradient of proton concentration into a single NNO thin film to establish a quantitative correlation between the proton concentration and the lattice constant and transport property of H-NNO.

The Pivotal Role of s-, p-, and f-Block Metals in Water Electrolysis: Status Quo and Perspectives

Transition metals, in particular noble metals, are the most common species in metal-mediated water electrolysis because they serve as highly active catalytic sites. In many cases, the presence of nontransition metals, that is, s-, p-, and f-block metals with high natural abundance in the earth-crust in the catalytic material is indispensable to boost efficiency and durability in water electrolysis. This is why alkali metals, alkaline-earth metals, rare-earth metals, lean metals, and metalloids receive growing interest in this research area. In spite of the pivotal role of these nontransition metals in tuning efficiency of water electrolysis, there is far more room for developments toward a knowledge-based catalyst design. In this review, five classes of nontransition metals species which are successfully utilized in water electrolysis, with special emphasis on electronic structure-catalytic activity relationships and phase stability, are discussed. Moreover, specific fundamental aspects on electrocatalysts for water electrolysis as well as a perspective on this research field are also addressed in this account. It is anticipated that this review can trigger a broader interest in using s-, p-, and f-block metals species toward the discovery of advanced polymetal-containing electrocatalysts for practical water splitting.