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

Abstract

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 mA cm^-2. Additionally, it had an overpotential of 260 mV (glassy carbon) or 215 mV (nickel foam), which was 78 mV lower than that of IrO₂ (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.

Keywords

electrocatalyst / in situ Raman / Mo-doped CoOOH / oxygen evolution reaction

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