Core-Shell Au@Metal-Oxide Nanoparticle Electrocatalysts for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution.

Strickler, Alaina L; Escudero-Escribano, Marı A; Jaramillo, Thomas F · Nano Lett · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Enhanced catalysis for electrochemical oxygen evolution is essential for the efficacy of many renewable energy technologies, including water electrolyzers and metal-air batteries. Recently, Au supports have been shown to enhance the activity of many 3d transition metal-oxide thin films for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. Herein, we translate the beneficial impact of Au supports to high surface area, device-ready core-shell nanoparticles consisting of a Au-core and a metal-oxide shell (Au@M<sub>x</sub>O<sub>y</sub> where M = Ni, Co, Fe, and CoFe). Through a systematic evaluation, we establish trends in performance and illustrate the universal activity enhancement when employing the Au-core in the 3d transition metal-oxide nanoparticles. The highest activity particles, Au@CoFeO<sub>x</sub>, demonstrate an overpotential of 328 ± 3 mV over a 2 h stability test at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, illustrating that strategically coupling Au support and mixed metal-oxide effects in a core-shell nanoparticle morphology is a promising avenue to achieve device-ready, high-performance OER catalysts.