Mn-doped perovskite-type oxide LaFeO₃ as highly active and durable bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen electrode reactions

Abstract

Perovskite oxides based on the alkaline earth metal lanthanum for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolytes are promising catalysts, but their catalytic activity and stability remain unsatisfactory. Here, we synthesized a series of LaFe_1−xMn_xO₃ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1) perovskite oxides by doping Mn into LaFeO₃ (LF). The results show that the doping amount of Mn has a significant effect on the catalytic performance. When x = 0.5, the catalyst LaFe_0.5Mn_0.5O₃ (LFM) exhibits the best performance. The limiting current density in 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ KOH solution is 7 mA·cm⁻², much larger than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst (5.5 mA·cm⁻²). Meanwhile, the performance of the doped catalyst is also superior to that of commercial Pt/C in terms of the long-term durability. The excellent catalytic performance of LFM may be ascribed to its abundant O²⁻/O⁻ species and low charge transfer resistance after doping the Mn element.

Keywords

oxygen electrode reaction / oxygen reduction reaction / oxygen evolution reaction / perovskite / electrocatalyst / LaFeO₃

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 91745112, 21604051, 21671133 and 21507081) and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant Nos. 19DZ2271100, 18020500800 and 18JC1412900).

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2020 Higher Education Press