Understanding the mechanism of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on perovskite materials is of great interest to tailor the synthesis of better catalyst materials. Despite the huge amount of literature reports, the complexity of catalytic systems and scarce in situ and operando surface sensitive spectroscopic tools render the detection of active sites and the understanding of the reaction mechanisms challenging. Here, we carried out and compared in situ and ex situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experimental procedures on a La0.2Sr0.8CoO3 perovskite OER catalyst. Experimental results show that segregated surface strontium, which is present in the as prepared sample, is leached into the electrolyte after immersion, leading to surface cobalt active sites enrichment. Such cobalt-enriched oxide surface evolves into a new phase, whose spectral feature is detected in situ, during/after OER. With the help of theoretical simulations, such species is assigned to cobalt oxyhydroxide, providing a direct evidence of its crucial role in the reaction.
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There is NO Competing Interest.
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Posted 10 Mar, 2021
Posted 10 Mar, 2021
Understanding the mechanism of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on perovskite materials is of great interest to tailor the synthesis of better catalyst materials. Despite the huge amount of literature reports, the complexity of catalytic systems and scarce in situ and operando surface sensitive spectroscopic tools render the detection of active sites and the understanding of the reaction mechanisms challenging. Here, we carried out and compared in situ and ex situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experimental procedures on a La0.2Sr0.8CoO3 perovskite OER catalyst. Experimental results show that segregated surface strontium, which is present in the as prepared sample, is leached into the electrolyte after immersion, leading to surface cobalt active sites enrichment. Such cobalt-enriched oxide surface evolves into a new phase, whose spectral feature is detected in situ, during/after OER. With the help of theoretical simulations, such species is assigned to cobalt oxyhydroxide, providing a direct evidence of its crucial role in the reaction.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
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