Facet Engineering of Advanced Electrocatalysts Toward Hydrogen/Oxygen Evolution Reactions

The electrocatalytic water splitting technology can generate highpurity hydrogen without emitting carbon dioxide,which is in favor of relieving environmental pollution and energy crisis and achieving carbon neutrality.Electrocatalysts can effectively reduce the reaction energy barrier and increase the reaction efficiency.Facet engineering is considered as a promising strategy in controlling the ratio of desired crystal planes on the surface.Owing to the anisotropy,crystal planes with different orientations usually feature facet-dependent physical and chemical properties,leading to differences in the adsorption energies of oxygen or hydrogen intermediates,and thus exhibit varied electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).In this review,a brief introduction of the basic concepts,fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanisms as well as key evaluating parameters for both HER and OER are provided.The formation mechanisms of the crystal facets are comprehensively overviewed aiming to give scientific theory guides to realize dominant crystal planes.Subsequently,three strategies of selective capping agent,selective etching agent,and coordination modulation to tune crystal planes are comprehensively summarized.Then,we present an overview of significant contributions of facet-engineered catalysts toward HER,OER,and overall water splitting.In particular,we highlight that density functional theory calculations play an indispensable role in unveiling the structure–activity correlation between the crystal plane and catalytic activity.Finally,the remaining challenges in facet-engineered catalysts for HER and OER are provided and future prospects for designing advanced facet-engineered electrocatalysts are discussed.

Metal organic polymers with dual catalytic sites for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions

Metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks have been widely employed in electrochemical catalysis owing to their designable skeletons,controllable porosities,and well-defined catalytic centers.However,the poor chemical stability and low electron conductivity limited their activity,and single-functional sites in these frameworks hindered them to show multifunctional roles in catalytic systems.Herein,we have constructed novel metal organic polymers(Co-HAT-CN and Ni-HAT-CN)with dual catalytic centers(metal-N_(4) and metal-N_(2))to catalyze oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).By using different metal centers,the catalytic activity and selectivity were well-tuned.Among them,Co-HAT-CN catalyzed the ORR in a 4e^(-)pathway,with a half-wave potential of 0.8 V versus RHE,while the Ni-HAT-CN catalyze ORR in a 2e^(-)pathway with H_(2)O_(2) selectivity over 90%.Moreover,the Co-HAT-CN delivered an overpotential of 350 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2) with a corresponding Tafel slope of 24 mV dec^(-1) for OER in a 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution.The experimental results revealed that the activities toward ORR were due to the M-N_(4) sites in the frameworks,and both M-N_(4) and M-N_(2) sites contributed to the OER.This work gives us a new platform to construct bifunctional catalysts.

Identification and comparison of the local physicochemical structures of transition metal-based layered double hydroxides for high performance electrochemical oxygen evolution reactions

Layered double hydroxides(LDHs) have attracted considerable attention as a cost effective alternative to the precious iridium-and ruthenium-based electrocatalysts for an oxygen evolution reaction(OER),a bottleneck of water electrolysis for sustainable hydrogen production.Despite their excellent OER performance,the structural and electronic properties of LDHs,particularly during the OER process,remain to be poorly understood.In this study,a series of LDH catalysts is investigated through in situ X-ray absorption fine structure analyses and density functional theory(DFT) calculations.Our experimental results reveal that the LDH catalyst with equal amounts of Ni and Fe(NF-LDH) exhibits the highest OER activity and catalytic life span when compared with its counterparts having equal amounts of Ni and Co(NC-LDH)and Ni only(Ni-LDH).The NF-LDH shows a markedly enhanced OER kinetics compared to the NC-LDH and the Ni-LDH,as proven by the lower overpotentials of 180,240,and 310 mV,respectively,and the Tafel slopes of 35.1,43.4,and 62.7 mV dec^(-1),respectively.The DFT calculations demonstrate that the lowest overpotential of the NF-LDH is associated with the active sites located at the edge planes of NF-LDH in contrast to those located at the basal planes of Ni-LDH and NC-LDH.The current study pinpoints the active sites on various LDHs and presents strategies for optimizing the OER performance of the LDH catalysts.

Recent advances in spinel-type electrocatalysts for bifunctional oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions

The demand for efficient and environmentally-benign electrocatalysts that help availably harness the renewable energy resources is growing rapidly. In recent years, increasing insights into the design of water electrolysers, fuel cells, and metal–air batteries emerge in response to the need for developing sustainable energy carriers, in which the oxygen evolution reaction and the oxygen reduction reaction play key roles. However, both reactions suffer from sluggish kinetics that restricts the reactivity. Therefore, it is vital to probe into the structure of the catalysts to exploit high-performance bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts. Spinel-type catalysts are a class of materials with advantages of versatility, low toxicity, low expense, high abundance, flexible ion arrangement, and multivalence structure. In this review, we afford a basic overview of spinel-type materials and then introduce the relevant theoretical principles for electrocatalytic activity, following that we shed light on the structure–property relationship strategies for spinel-type catalysts including electronic structure, microstructure, phase and composition regulation,and coupling with electrically conductive supports. We elaborate the relationship between structure and property, in order to provide some insights into the design of spinel-type bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts.

Nanoparticle-Decorated Ultrathin La2O3 Nanosheets as an Effcient Electrocatalysis for Oxygen Evolution Reactions

Electrochemical catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction are a critical component for many renewable energy applications. To improve their catalytic kinetics and mass activity are essential for sustainable industrial applications. Here, we report a rare-earth metal-based oxide electrocatalyst comprised of ultrathin amorphous La2O3 nanosheets hybridized with uniform La2O3 nanoparticles(La2O3@NP-NS). Significantly improved OER performance is observed from the nanosheets with a nanometer-scale thickness. The as-synthesized 2.27-nm La2O3@NP-NS exhibits excellent catalytic kinetics with an overpotential of 310 mV at 10 m A cm^-2, a small Tafel slope of 43.1 mV dec^-1, and electrochemical impedance of 38 Ω. More importantly, due to the ultrasmall thickness, its mass activity, and turnover frequency reach as high as 6666.7 A g^-1 and 5.79 s^-1, respectively, at an overpotential of 310 mV. Such a high mass activity is more than three orders of magnitude higher than benchmark OER electrocatalysts, such as IrO2 and RuO2. This work presents a sustainable approach toward the development of highly e cient electrocatalysts with largely reduced mass loading of precious elements.

Gold-iridium bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions

Carbon supported gold-iridium composite(Au Ir/C) was synthesized by a facile one-step process and was investigated as the bifunctional catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction(OER). The physical properties of the Au Ir/C composite were characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). Although the Au and Ir in the Au Ir/C did not form alloy, it is clear that the introduction of Ir decreases the average Au particle size to 4.2 nm compared to that in the Au/C(10.1 nm). By systematical analysis on chemical state of metal surface via XPS and the electrochemical results, it was found that the Au surface for the Au/C can be activated by potential cycling from 0.12 V to 1.72 V, resulting in the increased surface roughness of Au,thus improving the ORR activity. By the same potential cycling, the Ir surface of the Ir/C was irreversibly oxidized, leading to degraded ORR activity but uninfluenced OER activity. For the Au Ir/C, Ir protects Au against being oxidized due to the lower electronegativity of Ir. Combining the advantages of Au and Ir in catalyzing ORR and OER, the Au Ir/C catalyst displays an enhanced catalytic activity to the ORR and a comparable OER activity. In the 50-cycle accelerated aging test for the ORR and OER, the Au Ir/C displayed a satisfied stability, suggesting that the Au Ir/C catalyst is a potential bifunctional catalyst for the oxygen electrode.

MBenes-supported single-atom catalysts for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions by first-principles study and machine learning

Oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)are key catalytic processes in various renewable energy conversion and energy storage technologies.Herein,we systematically investigated the ORR and OER catalytic activity of the single-atom catalysts(SACs)composed of 4d/5d period transition metal(TM)atoms embedded on MBene substrates(TM-M_(2)B_(2)O_(2),M=Ti,Mo,and W).We found that TM dominates the catalytic activity compared to the MBene substrates.The SACs embedded with Rh,Pd,Au,and Ir exhibit excellent ORR or OER catalytic activity.Specifically,Rh-Mo2B2O2and Rh-W2B2O2are promising bifunctional catalysts with ultra-low ORR/OER overpotentials of 0.39/0.21 V and0.19/0.32 V,respectively,lower than that of Pt/RuO_(2)(0.45/0.42 V).Importantly,through machine learning,the models containing 10 element features of SACs were developed to quickly and accurately identify the superior ORR and OER electrocatalysts.Our findings provide several promising SACs for ORR and OER,and offer effective models for catalyst design.

Exciting lattice oxygen of nickel–iron bi-metal alkoxide for efficient electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction

High efficiency,cost-effective and durable electrocatalysts are of pivotal importance in energy conversion and storage systems.The electro-oxidation of water to oxygen plays a crucial role in such energy conversion technologies.Herein,we report a robust method for the synthesis of a bimetallic alkoxide for efficient oxygen evolution reaction(OER)for alkaline electrolysis,which yields current density of 10 mA cm^(-2)at an overpotential of 215 mV in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte.The catalyst demonstrates an excellent durability for more than 540 h operation with negligible degradation in activity.Raman spectra revealed that the catalyst underwent structure reconstruction during OER,evolving into oxyhydroxide,which was the active site proceeding OER in alkaline electrolyte.In-situ synchrotron X-ray absorption experiment combined with density functional theory calculation suggests a lattice oxygen involved electrocatalytic reaction mechanism for the in-situ generated nickel–iron bimetal-oxyhydroxide catalyst.This mechanism together with the synergy between nickel and iron are responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity and durability.These findings provide promising strategies for the rational design of nonnoble metal OER catalysts.

Microwave shock motivating the Sr substitution of 2D porous GdFeO_(3) perovskite for highly active oxygen evolution

The incorporation of partial A-site substitution in perovskite oxides represents a promising strategy for precisely controlling the electronic configuration and enhancing its intrinsic catalytic activity.Conventional methods for A-site substitution typically involve prolonged high-temperature processes.While these processes promote the development of unique nanostructures with highly exposed active sites,they often result in the uncontrolled configuration of introduced elements.Herein,we present a novel approach for synthesizing two-dimensional(2D)porous GdFeO_(3) perovskite with A-site strontium(Sr)substitution utilizing microwave shock method.This technique enables precise control of the Sr content and simultaneous construction of 2D porous structures in one step,capitalizing on the advantages of rapid heating and cooling(temperature~1100 K,rate~70 K s^(-1)).The active sites of this oxygen-rich defect structure can be clearly revealed through the simulation of the electronic configuration and the comprehensive analysis of the crystal structure.For electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction application,the synthesized 2D porous Gd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)FeO_(3) electrocatalyst exhibits an exceptional overpotential of 294 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2)and a small Tafel slope of 55.85 mV dec^(-1)in alkaline electrolytes.This study offers a fresh perspective on designing crystal configurations and the construction of nanostructures in perovskite.

Valence electronic engineering of superhydrophilic Dy-evoked Ni-MOF outperforming RuO_(2) for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Tackling the problem of poor conductivity and catalytic stability of pristine metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) is crucial to improve their oxygen evolution reaction(OER) performance.Herein,we introduce a novel strategy of dysprosium(Dy) doping,using the unique 4f orbitals of this rare earth element to enhance electrocatalytic activity of MOFs.Our method involves constructing Dy-doped Ni-MOF(Dy@Ni-MOF) nanoneedles on carbon cloth via a Dy-induced valence electronic perturbation approach.Experiments and density functional theory(DFT) calculations reveal that Dy doping can effectively modify the electronic structure of the Ni active centers and foster a strong electronic interaction between Ni and Dy.The resulting benefits include a reduced work function and a closer proximity of the d-band center to the Fermi level,which is conducive to improving electrical conductivity and promoting the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates.Furthermore,the Dy@Ni-MOF achieves superhydrophilicity,ensuring effective electrolyte contact and thus accelerating reaction kinetics,Ex-situ and in-situ analysis results manifest Dy_(2)O_(3)/NiOOH as the actual active species.Therefore,Dy@Ni-MOF shows impressive OER performance,significantly surpassing Ni-MOF.Besides,the overall water splitting device with Dy@NiMOF as an anode delivers a low cell voltage of 1.51 V at 10 mA cm^(-2) and demonstrates long-term stability for 100 h,positioning it as a promising substitute for precious metal catalysts.

Tuning electronic structure of RuO_(2)by single atom Zn and oxygen vacancies to boost oxygen evolution reaction in acidic medium

The poor stability of RuO_(2)electrocatalysts has been the primary obstacles for their practical application in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers.To dramatically enhance the durability of RuO_(2)to construct activity-stability trade-off model is full of significance but challenging.Herein,a single atom Zn stabilized RuO_(2)with enriched oxygen vacancies(SA Zn-RuO_(2))is developed as a promising alternative to iridium oxide for acidic oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Compared with commercial RuO_(2),the enhanced Ru–O bond strength of SA Zn-RuO_(2)by forming Zn-O-Ru local structure motif is favorable to stabilize surface Ru,while the electrons transferred from Zn single atoms to adjacent Ru atoms protects the Ru active sites from overoxidation.Simultaneously,the optimized surrounding electronic structure of Ru sites in SA ZnRuO_(2)decreases the adsorption energies of OER intermediates to reduce the reaction barrier.As a result,the representative SA Zn-RuO_(2)exhibits a low overpotential of 210 mV to achieve 10 mA cm^(-2)and a greatly enhanced durability than commercial RuO_(2).This work provides a promising dual-engineering strategy by coupling single atom doping and vacancy for the tradeoff of high activity and catalytic stability toward acidic OER.

Optimizing 3d spin polarization of CoOOH by in situ Mo doping for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Transition-metal oxyhydroxides are attractive catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions(OERs).Further studies for developing transition-metal oxyhydroxide catalysts and understanding their catalytic mechanisms will benefit their quick transition to the next catalysts.Herein,Mo-doped CoOOH was designed as a high-performance model electrocatalyst with durability for 20 h at 10 mAcm−2.Additionally,it had an overpotential of 260 mV(glassy carbon)or 215 mV(nickel foam),which was 78 mV lower than that of IrO_(2)(338 mV).In situ,Raman spectroscopy revealed the transformation process of CoOOH.Calculations using the density functional theory showed that during OER,doped Mo increased the spin-up density of states and shrank the spin-down bandgap of the 3d orbits in the reconstructed CoOOH under the electrochemical activation process,which simultaneously optimized the adsorption and electron conduction of oxygen-related intermediates on Co sites and lowered the OER overpotentials.Our research provides new insights into the methodical planning of the creation of transition-metal oxyhydroxide OER catalysts.

The role of strain in oxygen evolution reaction

The oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is a crucial step in metal-air batteries and water splitting technologies,playing a significant role in the efficiency and achievable heights of these two technologies.However,the OER is a four-step,four-electron reaction,and its slow kinetics result in high overpotentials,posing a challenge.To address this issue,numerous strategies involving modified catalysts have been proposed and proven to be highly efficient.In these strategies,the introduction of strain has been widely reported because it is generally believed to effectively regulate the electronic structure of metal sites and alter the adsorption energy of catalyst surfaces with reaction intermediates.However,strain has many other effects that are not well known,making it an important yet unexplored area.Based on this,this review provides a detailed introduction to the various roles of strain in OER.To better explain these roles,the review also presents the definition of strain and elucidates the potential mechanisms of strain in OER based on the d-band center theory and adsorption volcano plot.Additionally,the review showcases various ways of introducing strain in OER through examples reported in the latest literature,aiming to provide a comprehensive perspective for the development of strain engineering.Finally,the review analyzes the appropriate proportion of strain introduction,compares compressive and tensile strain,and examines the impact of strain on stability.And the review offers prospects for future research directions in this emerging field.

Rational design of MXene-based vacancy-confined single-atom catalyst for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides(MXenes) have been demonstrated to be promising supports for single-atom catalysts(SACs) to enable efficient oxygen evolution reaction(OER).However,the rational design of MXene-based SACs depends on an experimental trial-and-error approach.A theoretical guidance principle is highly expected for the efficient evaluation of MXene-based SACs.Herein,highthroughput screening was performed through first-principles calculations and machine learning techniques.Ti_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),V_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),Zr_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),Nb_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),Hf_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),Ta_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x),and W_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x) were screened out based on their excellent stability.Zn,Pd,Ag,Cd,Au,and Hg were proposed to be promising single atoms anchored in MXenes based on cohesive energy analysis.Hf_(3)C_(2)(OH)_(x) with a Pd single atom delivers a theoretical overpotential of 81 mV.Both moderate electron-deficient state and high covalency of metal-carbon bonds were critical features for the high OER reactivity.This principle is expected to be a promising approach to the rational design of OER catalysts for metal-air batteries,fuel cells,and other OER-based energy storage devices.

Steering surface reconstruction of hybrid metal oxides for efficient oxygen evolution reaction in water splitting and zinc-air batteries

Surface reconstruction yields real active species in electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction(OER)conditions;however,rationally regulating reconstruction in a targeted manner for constructing highly active OER electrocatalysts remains a formidable challenge.Here,an electrochemical activation strategy with selective etching was utilized to guide the reconstruction process of a hybrid cobalt-molybdenum oxide(CoMoO_(4)/Co_(3)O_(4)@CC)in a favorable direction to improve the OER performance.Both in-situ Raman and multiple ex-situ characterization tools demonstrate that controlled surface reconstruction can be easily achieved through Mo etching,with the formation of a dynamically stable amorphous-crystalline heterostructure.Theoretical calculations together with experimental results reveal that the synergistic effects between amorphous CoOOH and crystalline Co_(3)O_(4) are crucial in enhancing the catalytic performance.Consequently,the reconstructed CoMoO_(4)/Co_(3)O_(4)@CC exhibits a low overpotential of 250 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) in 1 M KOH,and more importantly it can be practiced in electrolytic water splitting and rechargeable zinc-air batteries devices,achieving ultra-long stability for over 500 and 1200 h,respectively.This work provides a promising route for the construction of high-performance electrocatalysts.

Rational Design of Cost-Effective Metal-Doped ZrO_(2)for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The design of cost-effective electrocatalysts is an open challenging for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)due to the“stable-oractive”dilemma.Zirconium dioxide(ZrO_(2)),a versatile and low-cost material that can be stable under OER operating conditions,exhibits inherently poor OER activity from experimental observations.Herein,we doped a series of metal elements to regulate the ZrO_(2)catalytic activity in OER via spin-polarized density functional theory calculations with van der Waals interactions.Microkinetic modeling as a function of the OER activity descriptor(G_(O*)-G_(HO*))displays that 16 metal dopants enable to enhance OER activities over a thermodynamically stable ZrO_(2)surface,among which Fe and Rh(in the form of single-atom dopant)reach the volcano peak(i.e.the optimal activity of OER under the potential of interest),indicating excellent OER performance.Free energy diagram calculations,density of states,and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations further showed that Fe and Rh are the effective dopants for ZrO_(2),leading to low OER overpotential,high conductivity,and good stability.Considering cost-effectiveness,single-atom Fe doped ZrO_(2)emerged as the most promising catalyst for OER.This finding offers a valuable perspective and reference for experimental researchers to design cost-effective catalysts for the industrial-scale OER production.

Retaining the self-released chalcogenate at reconstructed cobalt sites by self-transformed carbonate regulation for boosted oxygen evolution

The in-situ generated oxyanions at electrochemically reconstructed catalysts from metal-based nonoxide compounds have been proven to significantly accelerate oxygen evolution reaction(OER)kinetics.However,it remains a challenge to retain these self-released oxyanions at reconstructed catalysts,hindering its utilization as a tool to develop efficient OER catalysts.Here,we demonstrate a versatile selftransformed carbonate regulation strategy to efficiently retain the self-released chalcogenate at Co oxyhydroxides reconstructed from carbon-incorporated Co selenides under OER conditions.These selftransformed CO_(3)^(2-)can induce electron accumulation and narrow d bond at Co sites to facilitate the Co3d-O 2p orbital hybridization between Co sites and SeO_(x)^(2-)for enhanced SeO_(x)^(2-)retention,which can accelerate the rate-limiting step for^(*)OOH formation during OER.Relative to CoOOH-SeO_(x)^(2-)with limited SeO_(x)^(2-)residues,CoOOH-CO_(3)^(2-)/SeO_(x)^(2-)with elevated SeO_(x)^(2-)retention by CO_(3)^(2-)regulation exhibited a 5.6-fold increase in current density and a remarkable lower Tafel slope towards OER.This strategy paves a rational avenue to design efficient catalysts for electrooxidation reactions through finely regulating self-released oxyanions at reconstructed structures.

Catalyst–Support Interaction in Polyaniline‑Supported Ni_(3)Fe Oxide to Boost Oxygen Evolution Activities for Rechargeable Zn‑Air Batteries

Catalyst–support interaction plays a crucial role in improving the catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Here we modulate the catalyst–support interaction in polyaniline-supported Ni_(3)Fe oxide(Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI)with a robust hetero-interface,which significantly improves oxygen evolution activities with an overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2)and specific activity of 2.08 mA cm_(ECSA)^(-2)at overpotential of 300 mV,3.84-fold that of Ni_(3)Fe oxide.It is revealed that the catalyst–support interaction between Ni_(3)Fe oxide and PANI support enhances the Ni–O covalency via the interfacial Ni–N bond,thus promoting the charge and mass transfer on Ni_(3)Fe oxide.Considering the excellent activity and stability,rechargeable Zn-air batteries with optimum Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI are assembled,delivering a low charge voltage of 1.95 V to cycle for 400 h at 10 mA cm^(-2).The regulation of the effect of catalyst–support interaction on catalytic activity provides new possibilities for the future design of highly efficient OER catalysts.

Surface-neutralization engineered NiCo-LDH/phosphate hetero-sheets toward robust oxygen evolution reaction

Developing highly active oxygen evolution reaction(OER)electrocatalysts with robust durability is essential in producing high-purity hydrogen through water electrolysis.Layered double hydroxide(LDH)based catalysts have demonstrated efficient catalytic performance toward the relatively sluggish OER.By considering the promotion effect of phosphate(Pi)on proton transfer,herein,a facile phosphate acid(PA)surface-neutralization strategy is developed to in-situ construct NiCo-LDH/NiCoPi hetero-sheets toward OER catalysis.OER activity of NiCoLDH is significantly boosted due to the proton promotion effect and the electronic modulation effect of NiCoPi.As a result,the facilely prepared NiCo-LDH/NiCoPi catalyst displays superior OER catalytic activity with a low overpotential of 300 mV to deliver 100 mA cm^(-2)OER and a Tafel slope of 73 mV dec^(-1).Furthermore,no visible activity decay is detected after a 200-h continuous OER operation.The present work,therefore,provides a promising strategy to exploit robust OER electrocatalysts for commercial water electrolysers.

Molecular-level proton acceptor boosts oxygen evolution catalysis to enable efficient industrial-scale water splitting

Industrial water splitting has long been suppressed by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction(OER),which requires a catalyst to be efficient.Herein,we propose a molecular-level proton acceptor strategy to produce an efficient OER catalyst that can boost industrial-scale water splitting.Molecular-level phosphate(-PO_(4))group is introduced to modify the surface of PrBa_(0.5)Ca_(0.5)Co_(2)O_(5)+δ(PBCC).The achieved catalyst(PO_(4)-PBCC)exhibits significantly enhanced catalytic performance in alkaline media.Based on the X-ray absorption spectroscopy results and density functional theory(DFT)calculations,the PO_(4)on the surface,which is regarded as the Lewis base,is the key factor to overcome the kinetic limitation of the proton transfer process during the OER.The use of the catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly(MEA)is further evaluated for industrial-scale water splitting,and it only needs a low voltage of 1.66 V to achieve a large current density of 1 A cm^(-2).This work provides a new molecular-level strategy to develop highly efficient OER electrocatalysts for industrial applications.