Toward a comprehensive hypothesis of oxygen-evolution reaction in the presence of iron and gold

This study investigates the effects of Fe on the oxygen-evolution reaction(OER)in the presence of Au.Two distinct areas of OER were identified:the first associated with Fe sites at low overpotential(~330 mV),and the second with Au sites at high overpotential(~870 mV).Various factors such as surface Fe concentration,electrochemical method,scan rate,potential range,concentration,method of adding K_(2)Fe O_(4),nature of Fe,and temperature were varied to observe diverse behaviors during OER for Fe O_(x)H_(y)/Au.Trace amounts of Fe ions had a significant impact on OER,reaching a saturation point where the activity did not increase further.Strong electronic interaction between Fe and Au ions was indicated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)and electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)analyses.In situ visible spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Fe O_(4)^(2-)during OER.In situ Mossbauer and surfaceenhanced Raman spectroscopy(SERS)analyses suggest the involvement of Fe-based species as intermediates during the rate-determining step of OER.A lattice OER mechanism based on Fe O_(x)H_(y)was proposed for operation at low overpotentials.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations revealed that Fe oxide,Fe-oxide clusters,and Fe doping on the Au foil exhibited different activities and stabilities during OER.The study provides insights into the interplay between Fe and Au in OER,advancing the understanding of OER mechanisms and offering implications for the design of efficient electrocatalytic systems.

Topotactically constructed nickel-iron(oxy)hydroxide with abundant in-situ produced high-valent iron species for efficient water oxidation

The low efficiency of oxygen evolution reaction(OER) is regarded as one of the major roadblocks for metal-air batteries and water electrolysis.Herein,a high-performance OER catalyst of NiFe_(0.2)(oxy)hydroxide(NiFe_(0.2)-O_(x)H_(y)) was developed through topotactic transformation of a Prussian blue analogue in an alkaline solution,which exhibits a low overpotential of only 263 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) and a small Tafel slope of 35 mV dec-1.Ex-situ/operando Raman spectroscopy results indicated that the phase structure of NiFe_(0.2)-O_(x)H_(y) was irreversibly transformed from the type of α-Ni(OH)_(2) to γ-NiOOH with applying an anodic potential,while ex-situ/operando 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopic studies evidenced the in-situ production of abundant high-valent iron species under OER conditions,which effectively promoted the OER catalysis.Our work elucidates that the amount of high-valent iron species in-situ produced in the NiFe(oxy)hydroxide has a positive correlation with its water oxidation reaction performance,which further deepens the understanding of the mechanism of NiFe-based electrocatalysts.

Synthesis of Iron-Carbide Nanoparticles:Identification of the Active Phase and Mechanism of Fe-Based Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Despite the extensive study of the Fe-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis(FTS)over the past 90 years,its active phases and reaction mechanisms are still unclear due to the coexistence of metals,oxides,and carbide phases presented under realistic FTS reaction conditions and the complex reaction network involving CO activation,C-C coupling,and methane formation.To address these issues,we successfully synthesized a range of pure-phase iron and iron-carbide nanoparticles(Fe,Fe_(5)C_(2),Fe_(3)C,and Fe_(7)C_(3))for the first time.By using them as the ideal model catalysts on high-pressure transient experiments,we identified unambiguously that all the iron carbides are catalytically active in the FTS reaction while Fe_(5)C_(2) is the most active yet stable carbide phase,consistent with density functional theory(DFT)calculation results.The reaction mechanism and kinetics of Fe-based FTS were further explored on the basis of those model catalysts by means of transient high-pressure stepwise temperature-programmed surface reaction(STPSR)experiments and DFT calculations.Our work provides new insights into the active phase of iron carbides and corresponding FTS reaction mechanism,which is essential for better iron-based catalyst design for FTS reactions.

Orthorhombic Y_(0.95-x)Sr_(x)Co_(0.3)Fe_(0.7)O_(3-δ) anode for oxygen evolution reaction in solid oxide electrolysis cells

Cubic perovskite oxides usually suffer from delamination and Sr^(2+) segregation for catalyzing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anodes of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). It is crucial to develop alternative and efficient anode materials for SOECs. Herein, a series of novel Y_(0.95-x)Sr_(x)Co_(0.3)Fe_(0.7)O_(3-δ) (YSCF-x) orthorhombic perovskite oxides in the Pnma (62) space group are synthesized as anode materials of SOECs. Physicochemical characterizations and density functional theory calculations reveal that the partial substitution of Y^(3+) by Sr^(2+) increases the oxygen vacancy concentration and mobility as well as improves the electrical conductivity, which contributes to the excellent OER activity of YSCF-x. At 800 °C, the current density of SOEC with YSCF-0.05-Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-δ anode can reach 1.32 A cm^(−2) at 1.6 V, about twice that of SOEC with Y_(0.95-x)Sr_(x)Co_(0.3)Fe_(0.7)O_(3-δ)-Ce_(0.8)Sm_(0.2)O_(2-δ) anode. This work paves a new avenue for the design of advanced anode materials of SOECs.