Immobilization of Oxyanions on the Reconstructed Heterostructure Evolved from a Bimetallic Oxysulfide for the Promotion of Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Kai Yu; Hongyuan Yang; Hao Zhang; Hui Huang; Zhaowu Wang; Zhenhui Kang; Yang Liu; Prashanth W Menezes; Ziliang Chen

doi:10.1007/s40820-023-01164-9

Immobilization of Oxyanions on the Reconstructed Heterostructure Evolved from a Bimetallic Oxysulfide for the Promotion of Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Nanomicro Lett. 2023 Jul 29;15(1):186. doi: 10.1007/s40820-023-01164-9.

Authors

Kai Yu^#¹, Hongyuan Yang^#², Hao Zhang¹, Hui Huang¹, Zhaowu Wang³, Zhenhui Kang⁴, Yang Liu¹, Prashanth W Menezes^{5

6}, Ziliang Chen^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Chemistry: Metalorganics and Inorganic Materials, Technical University of Berlin, Straße Des 17 Juni 135. Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
³ School of Physics and Engineering, Longmen Laboratory, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, People's Republic of China. [email protected].
⁵ Department of Chemistry: Metalorganics and Inorganic Materials, Technical University of Berlin, Straße Des 17 Juni 135. Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany. [email protected].
⁶ Materials Chemistry Group for Thin Film Catalysis - CatLab, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489, Berlin, Germany. [email protected].
⁷ Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, People's Republic of China. [email protected].
⁸ Department of Chemistry: Metalorganics and Inorganic Materials, Technical University of Berlin, Straße Des 17 Juni 135. Sekr. C2, 10623, Berlin, Germany. [email protected].
⁹ Materials Chemistry Group for Thin Film Catalysis - CatLab, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489, Berlin, Germany. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Efficient and durable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) requires the electrocatalyst to bear abundant active sites, optimized electronic structure as well as robust component and mechanical stability. Herein, a bimetallic lanthanum-nickel oxysulfide with rich oxygen vacancies based on the La₂O₂S prototype is fabricated as a binder-free precatalyst for alkaline OER. The combination of advanced in situ and ex situ characterizations with theoretical calculation uncovers the synergistic effect among La, Ni, O, and S species during OER, which assures the adsorption and stabilization of the oxyanion [Formula: see text] onto the surface of the deeply reconstructed porous heterostructure composed of confining NiOOH nanodomains by La(OH)₃ barrier. Such coupling, confinement, porosity and immobilization enable notable improvement in active site accessibility, phase stability, mass diffusion capability and the intrinsic Gibbs free energy of oxygen-containing intermediates. The optimized electrocatalyst delivers exceptional alkaline OER activity and durability, outperforming most of the Ni-based benchmark OER electrocatalysts.

Keywords: Immobilization of oxyanions; Lanthanum-nickel oxysulfide; Oxygen evolution catalysis; Rare earth metal; Structural reconstruction.