Title
Detection of high-valent iron species in alloyed oxidic cobaltates for catalysing the oxygen evolution reaction
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
12-1-2021
Abstract
Iron alloying of oxidic cobaltate catalysts results in catalytic activity for oxygen evolution on par with Ni-Fe oxides in base but at much higher alloying compositions. Zero-field 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) are able to clearly identify Fe4+ in mixed-metal Co-Fe oxides. The highest Fe4+ population is obtained in the 40–60% Fe alloying range, and XAS identifies the ion residing in an octahedral oxide ligand field. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity, as reflected in Tafel analysis of CoFeOx films in 1 M KOH, tracks the absolute concentration of Fe4+. The results reported herein suggest an important role for the formation of the Fe4+ redox state in activating cobaltate OER catalysts at high iron loadings.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Nature Communications
Volume
12
Issue
1
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Li, Nancy, Ryan G. Hadt, Dugan Hayes, Lin X. Chen, and Daniel G. Nocera. "Detection of high-valent iron species in alloyed oxidic cobaltates for catalysing the oxygen evolution reaction." Nature Communications 12, 1 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24453-6.