A Functionally Stable Manganese Oxide Oxygen Evolution Catalyst in Acid

First-row metals have been a target for the development of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts because they comprise noncritical elements. We now report a comprehensive electrochemical characterization of manganese oxide (MnOx) over a wide pH range, and establish MnOx as a functionally stable OER catalyst owing to self-healing, is derived from MnOx redeposition that offsets catalyst dissolution during turnover. To study this process in detail, the oxygen evolution mechanism of MnOx was investigated electrokinetically over a pH range spanning acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. In the alkaline pH regime, a ∼60 mV/decade Tafel slope and inverse first-order dependence on proton concentration were…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: DE-SC0009565
• HU
  Harvard University