Co(OH) 2 vs. CoOOH: understanding the origin of in‐situ converted catalyst’s high catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract Metal oxohydroxides (MOOH) are widely accepted as the true active species for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the MOOH converted from pre‐catalysts usually exhibits better catalytic performance than those directly synthesized. The underlying structural reason for this phenomenon remains controversial. In this work, CoOOH and Co(OH) 2 with similar morphology are employed as model catalysts to investigate the origin of in‐situ converted catalyst’s high activity, as Co(OH) 2 can be fully converted to CoOOH during OER. In‐situ Raman, electron paramagnetic resonance, HR‐TEM, and X‐ray spectroscopic studies reveal that O vacancies in the CoOOH converted from Co(OH) 2 play a key role in its higher…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 22209129
• XJ
  Xi’an Jiaotong University

  Award: HG6J024