The oxygen evolution reaction(OER)represents one of the major bottlenecks for broad-based applications of many clean energy storage/conversion technologies.The key to solving this problem lies in developing high-perfo...The oxygen evolution reaction(OER)represents one of the major bottlenecks for broad-based applications of many clean energy storage/conversion technologies.The key to solving this problem lies in developing high-performing,cost effective and stable catalysts for the OER.Herein,we demonstrate that ubiquitous stainless steel mesh(SSM)materials activated by a facile cathodization treatment can be employed as a high performing OER catalyst,as showcased by the impressively low overpotentials of 275 and 319 mV to reach the benchmark current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^−2(1.0 M KOH),respectively.Cathodized SSM also exhibits excellent performance in a two-electrode water electrolyzer,which requires a low cell voltage of 1.58 at 10 mA cm^−2 and outperforms many of water electrolyzers using earth-abundant OER catalysts.Moreover,cathodized SSM with minor performance degradation after the stability test can also be readily healed by subjecting it to an additional cathodization treatment.It is disclosed that the superior performance of cathodized SSMs stems from the surface enrichment of OER active Ni(oxy)hydroxide,facile gas-bubble removal and transportation over the unique mesh-structured surfaces,while the abundant reservoir of nickel in the bulk allows healing of the catalyst by a facile cathodization.展开更多
Modifying solid catalysts with an ionic liquid layer is an effective approach for boosting the performance of both Pt-based and non-precious metal catalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction. While most studies ope...Modifying solid catalysts with an ionic liquid layer is an effective approach for boosting the performance of both Pt-based and non-precious metal catalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction. While most studies operated at room temperature it remains unclear whether the IL-associated boosting effect can be maintained at elevated temperature, which is of high relevance for practical applications in low temperature fuel cells. Herein, Fe-N-C catalysts were modified by introducing small amounts of hydrophobic ionic liquid, resulting in boosted electrocatalytic activity towards the alkaline oxygen reduction reaction at room temperature. It is demonstrated that the boosting effect can be maintained and even strengthened when increasing the electrolyte temperature up to 70℃. These findings show for the first time that the incorporation of ionic liquid is a suited method to obtain advanced noble metal-free electrocatalysts that can be applied at operating temperature condition.展开更多
基金funding from the European Research Council(ERC)under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program(grant agreement No.681719)L.-L.S.acknowledges the funding from the China Scholarship Council(No.201506210077)。
文摘The oxygen evolution reaction(OER)represents one of the major bottlenecks for broad-based applications of many clean energy storage/conversion technologies.The key to solving this problem lies in developing high-performing,cost effective and stable catalysts for the OER.Herein,we demonstrate that ubiquitous stainless steel mesh(SSM)materials activated by a facile cathodization treatment can be employed as a high performing OER catalyst,as showcased by the impressively low overpotentials of 275 and 319 mV to reach the benchmark current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^−2(1.0 M KOH),respectively.Cathodized SSM also exhibits excellent performance in a two-electrode water electrolyzer,which requires a low cell voltage of 1.58 at 10 mA cm^−2 and outperforms many of water electrolyzers using earth-abundant OER catalysts.Moreover,cathodized SSM with minor performance degradation after the stability test can also be readily healed by subjecting it to an additional cathodization treatment.It is disclosed that the superior performance of cathodized SSMs stems from the surface enrichment of OER active Ni(oxy)hydroxide,facile gas-bubble removal and transportation over the unique mesh-structured surfaces,while the abundant reservoir of nickel in the bulk allows healing of the catalyst by a facile cathodization.
基金funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant No. 681719)the German Research Foundation (Grant No.GSC1070) for financial support。
文摘Modifying solid catalysts with an ionic liquid layer is an effective approach for boosting the performance of both Pt-based and non-precious metal catalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction. While most studies operated at room temperature it remains unclear whether the IL-associated boosting effect can be maintained at elevated temperature, which is of high relevance for practical applications in low temperature fuel cells. Herein, Fe-N-C catalysts were modified by introducing small amounts of hydrophobic ionic liquid, resulting in boosted electrocatalytic activity towards the alkaline oxygen reduction reaction at room temperature. It is demonstrated that the boosting effect can be maintained and even strengthened when increasing the electrolyte temperature up to 70℃. These findings show for the first time that the incorporation of ionic liquid is a suited method to obtain advanced noble metal-free electrocatalysts that can be applied at operating temperature condition.
