1
|
Ta XMC, Trần-Phú T, Yuwono JA, Nguyen TKA, Bui AD, Truong TN, Chang LC, Magnano E, Daiyan R, Simonov AN, Tricoli A. Optimal Coatings of Co 3 O 4 Anodes for Acidic Water Electrooxidation. Small 2023:e2304650. [PMID: 37863809 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202304650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Implementation of proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers for large-scale sustainable hydrogen production requires the replacement of scarce noble-metal anode electrocatalysts with low-cost alternatives. However, such earth-abundant materials often exhibit inadequate stability and/or catalytic activity at low pH, especially at high rates of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, the authors explore the influence of a dielectric nanoscale-thin oxide layer, namely Al2 O3 , SiO2 , TiO2 , SnO2 , and HfO2 , prepared by atomic layer deposition, on the stability and catalytic activity of low-cost and active but insufficiently stable Co3 O4 anodes. It is demonstrated that the ALD layers improve both the stability and activity of Co3 O4 following the order of HfO2 > SnO2 > TiO2 > Al2 O3 , SiO2 . An optimal HfO2 layer thickness of 12 nm enhances the Co3 O4 anode durability by more than threefold, achieving over 42 h of continuous electrolysis at 10 mA cm-2 in 1 m H2 SO4 electrolyte. Density functional theory is used to investigate the superior performance of HfO2 , revealing a major role of the HfO2 |Co3 O4 interlayer forces in the stabilization mechanism. These insights offer a potential strategy to engineer earth-abundant materials for low-pH OER catalysts with improved performance from earth-abundant materials for efficient hydrogen production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Minh Chau Ta
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Thành Trần-Phú
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Jodie A Yuwono
- School of Chemical Engineering & Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
- College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Thi Kim Anh Nguyen
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Anh Dinh Bui
- School of Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Thien N Truong
- School of Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Li-Chun Chang
- School of Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Elena Magnano
- IOM-CNR, Istituto Officina dei Materiali, AREA Science Park Basovizza, Trieste, 34149, Italy
| | - Rahman Daiyan
- Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | | | - Antonio Tricoli
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| |
Collapse
|