Nature of Activated Manganese Oxide for Oxygen Evolution

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• 作者：Michael Huynh ; Chenyang Shi ; Simon J. L. Billinge ; Daniel G. Nocera
• 刊名：Journal of the American Chemical Society
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：December 2, 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：137
• 期：47
• 页码：14887-14904
• 全文大小：1051K
• ISSN：1520-5126

文摘

Electrodeposited manganese oxide films (MnOx) are promising stable oxygen evolution catalysts. They are able to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic solutions but with only modest activity when prepared by constant anodic potential deposition. We now show that the performance of these catalysts is improved when they are 鈥渁ctivated鈥?by potential cycling protocols, as measured by Tafel analysis (where lower slope is better): upon activation the Tafel slope decreases from 鈭?20 to 鈭?0 mV/decade in neutral conditions and from 鈭?50 to 鈭?0 mV/decade in acidic solutions. Electrochemical, spectroscopic, and structural methods were employed to study the activation process and support a mechanism where the original birnessite-like MnOx (未-MnO₂) undergoes a phase change, induced by comproportionation with cathodically generated Mn(OH)₂, to a hausmannite-like intermediate (伪-Mn₃O₄). Subsequent anodic conditioning from voltage cycling or water oxidation produces a disordered birnessite-like phase, which is highly active for oxygen evolution. At pH 2.5, the current density of activated MnOx (at an overpotential of 600 mV) is 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the original MnOx and begins to approach that of Ru and Ir oxides in acid.